Arman's Antics (#060)
The latest from curious contrarian Arman Khodadoost
Hey everyone!
Coming to you live from Austin, Texas. Here’s your weekly dose of Arman’s Antics. Five things I’ve stumbled upon that will make you think, laugh, cry (or a nasty combination of the three).
Welcome to the forty-three new subscribers receiving this for the first time (346 total). I respect your inbox like the treasure chest it is.
I hope nobody is reading this, but if you are, please keep it to yourself.
Essay I wrote that struck a nerve
When you come across a piece of art that moves you, it can utterly change who you were before.
But what if you find out that the artist was a dirt bag? Does that change how you feel about their art? If so, you’ve missed the point.
The sign of a healthy mind is being able to:
Remove the artist from the art (#048)
If you see a stunning statue while strolling through the streets of Athens, Greece, does it matter if the artist wasn’t a good father? Or didn’t pay his taxes? Would you stop enjoying the statue with that information?
Collection of captivating short stories
It’s so common to hear people complain about a movie version of a book they loved.
But I’ve just done the reverse and it was amazing!
If you first watch a movie and love it, why not read the book version next (if there is one)? You’re practically guaranteed to love the book if you enjoyed the movie. Probably even more so.
This was the case for me after I watched The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix. I loved it so much I had to watch it twice. Then I decided to order the book version titled: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
It did not disappoint.
What’s a movie you love that has a book version you haven’t read yet?
Fellow Substack writer I’m enjoying
My friend
writes and he’s been experimenting with a fascinating new writing project called “Unsent Letters”.He has been publishing letters to important people in his life discussing mundane moments they experienced long ago.
I love this idea and hope he continues to do this because it’s making me consider doing the same as a form of (cheap) therapy.
Here’s one written to his mom about cooking carbonara:
The people you surround yourself with
Many people think they need to surgically remove those they are closest to and get around “better” humans when they hear The Five Chimps Theory — you become like the five people you spend the most time with.
There’s definitely some truth in it but… isn’t that messed up?
Do you really want to drop everyone in your life if you don’t consider them to be as “successful” as you want to be? Wouldn’t it be easier to cheer them on until they become successful?
Then, hopefully, knowing they have you in their corner offering them genuine support, they’ll become better. And their success will have no choice but to rub off on you.
Random thought
It was my half-brother’s 23rd birthday last week (same dad, different moms). I realized for the first time that I actually have a real life brother from another mother!
We lived in Canton, Georgia. I’m not sure why I was feeling the Hawaiian shirt vibes.
That’s it for the 60th edition of Arman’s Antics.
Thank you for spending a few of your attention points with me. Again, I hope nobody is still reading this, but if you are, please keep it to yourself. Now back to your regularly scheduled nonstop scrolling.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Cheers,
Arman
Please, whatever you do, don’t like or comment below :)
Arman! Thank you, my friend, for the shout out. Your issues are always so succintly packed with insights and interesting thoughts. I really enjoy reading you. :)
I agree with the Five Chimps rule. It is a good guideline but a tad harsh. After all, what constitutes success? Who says we've improved while they have not? It's definitely good to sever ties with toxicity, but should we be such social climbers? Who's the chimp now?