Arman's Antics (#113)
Latest from the curious contrarian
Howdy amigo,
^ This will forever live on my Meme Mt. Rushmore.
Coming to you live from Austin, Texas.
Here’s your monthly dose of Arman’s Antics — five things I’ve been pondering or exploring that made me think, laugh, cry (or a nasty combination of the three).
A gracious bow to the 300 new subscribers receiving this for the first time (1560 total). I don’t know why you’ve come. But I’m glad you’re here.
Two new blog posts I wrote
Imperfections in art are not a defect (when purposely included). They infuse it with some soul.
Ever wondered if you’re being a good citizen of the interwebs? I’ve got three questions to help.
Phantom followers
You’ve probably never heard of phantom followers before because, well, I just made it up. But you already have a hunch as to what it means.
Book I’m reading (yet again)
Someone once said, “I don’t want to read every book. I just want to read the best 100 books over and over again.”
Dare I say this one makes the cut?
I’m not typically a fan of long books. Can you just make your point and let me get on with my day? So the fact this is over 500 pages and keeps pulling me back every year or two is really saying something.
His main point is that many things in our lives (muscles, businesses, finances, creativity) benefit from chaos, turmoil, and stress. Yet we do the exact opposite by trying to keep things smooth, calm, and predictable.
A great example he lays out contrasts a highly paid banker with an expensive lifestyle and debts (fragile and highly vulnerable) with a self-employed taxi driver with low overhead and no debt (antifragile and better off in the long run).
A word of warning: this isn’t for the faint of heart.
He’s brash, irreverent, knows he’s smarter than you and isn’t afraid to show it.
Documentary I watched (yet again)
Roadrunner: A film about Anthony Bourdain.
Has a 91% Rotten tomatoes rating.
Tony had a profound impact on me while he was alive and still does years after his suicide.
He helped me stop being a dreaded tourist and start being a traveler.
In fact, he’s a big reason why I bought a one way ticket to Southeast Asia with no plan whatsoever. Seriously, I didn’t even book a hotel ahead of time.
I think he and Taleb would’ve been besties.
True travel leaves scars. Of the most beautiful variety.
Here’s the trailer:
Podcast I listened to (yet again)
Plenty of people reread great books but I think relistening to great podcasts is highly underrated.
I’ve listened to hundreds of them once. But there’s a only a select few that I keep coming back to.
Derek Sivers first interview with Tim Ferriss back in 2015 is one of them.
Derek, maybe more than anyone else, got me questioning so many of my commonly held beliefs (ya know, those ones you never think to question) about business, money, marriage, you name it.
I’ve listened to this gem at least half a dozen times over the past ten years. And it never gets old.
It’s two hours of pure ear candy.
Enjoy:
#125 Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying “No” to Millions
Random thought
A strange paradox: no two humans have ever been (or ever will be) identical yet we are all so similar.
That’s it for the 113th edition of Arman’s Antics.
I hope you didn’t make it this far, but if you did, please keep it to yourself.
And now back to your regularly scheduled nonstop scrolling.
Think for yourself,
Arman
Your thoughts? Comments? Complaints? Please leave a reply below.
Love your antics!!
dang I covered this! " Yet we do the exact opposite by trying to keep things smooth, calm, and predictable. " My version: https://silverman.substack.com/p/whats-diff-about-me. It is also my "pinned" post. https://silverman.substack.com/