Arman's Antics (#061)
The latest from underemployed Arman Khodadoost
Hey friend!
Coming to you live from the Lower East Side, New York City. 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 seven new subscribers receiving this for the first time (347 total). I respect your inbox and don’t take your attention for granted.
I hope nobody is reading this, but if you are, please keep it to yourself.
Essay I wrote last week
The unemployed have too much autonomy.
The over-employed have zero autonomy.
But the consciously underemployed may have just the right amount.
So before you blindly accept that juicy new promotion or start your lemonade stand business empire that will require most of your waking hours, you may want to consider:
The subtle joy of being a bit underemployed
Would you ever decline a promotion that guaranteed to double your pay? It’s a strange question. It seems un-American to even ask such a ridiculous thing.
Book I’m reading by my new favorite (dead) author
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman.
Luddites think all technology is evil.
Technophiles think all technology is glorious.
Both are wrong.
Like most things in life, it’s a Faustian bargain — technology giveth and technology taketh away.
Here’s the description: “The story of our society's transformation into a Technopoly: a society that no longer merely uses technology as a support system but instead is shaped by it — with radical consequences for the meanings of politics, art, education, intelligence, and truth.”
Documentary I watched
It Ain’t Over.
Who was the most criminally underrated baseball player of all-time?
I’m an Atlanta Braves fan, so I would have said Hank Aaron.
But this doc proved me wrong.
Yogi Berra is the correct answer.
You may vaguely know the name because of the cartoon character Yogi Bear, his TV commercials, or perhaps you’ve heard one of his famous aphorisms (Yogi-isms).
But he was so much more than that.
He’s like the Bill Russell of baseball.
The man just couldn’t stop winning world series championships as a player, and later, as a coach.
Here’s a few of my favorite Yogi-isms (something that seems to make no sense but actually makes total sense):
Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.
If you can’t imitate them, don’t copy them.
If you see a fork in the road, take it.
Always go to your friends funerals, or else they won’t go to yours.
It ain’t over til it’s over.
Comedians are the last great philosophers
I already had a feeling this was true, but going to the Comedy Cellar last night confirmed it.
They’ve mastered the art of spitting raw truth that you’re already thinking but are too scared to say.
I heard this great line that sums it up: laughter is the sound of comprehension.
Unfortunately there were a few unlucky souls on stage last night that weren’t comprehended.
Random thought
Think of yourself sitting in a stadium watching your favorite team play the perfect game when you suddenly realize you forgot to lock your car.
You are anxious about the car, you can’t walk out of the stadium and you can’t enjoy the game.
That’s a perfect image of life as it is lived by most people.
That’s it for the 61st weekly edition of Arman’s Antics.
Thank you for spending a few of your attention points with me.
I really 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 friend!
Cheers,
Arman
Your Random Thought is literally my reality. While at a basketball game my car was broken into because I failed to lock my car. Now I am constantly trying to remember if I have locked my car wherever I go and often go back to my car, when possible, to double check. Not a good way to live nor enjoy the moment!