"The more money an American accumulates, the less interesting he becomes."
āI'm not a conspiracy theorist - I'm a conspiracy analyst.ā
āOne is sorry one could not have taken both branches of the road. But we were not allotted multiple selves.ā
āThe unfed mind devours itself.ā
āUntil very recently, the artist was a magician who did his magic in public view but kept himself and his effects a matter of mystery.ā
āYes. With us the ability to detect mediocrity or anything else is rare. Evaluation descends, through ignorance, to mere opinion, and opinion is a matter of fashion. And fashion is based on middle-class, middlebrow values, despite the mock defiance of an occasional licensed fool, like Vonnegut.ā
āSelf-education is the point of education. But it is easier if you have escaped the stifling of the academy.ā
āThe critic must know more than either writer or academic. He must also value experience and have a truth-telling nature. I think I have that. In their youth most people worry whether or not other people will like them. Not me. I had the choice of going under or surviving, and I survived by understanding (after the iron - if not the silver ā had entered my soul) that it is I who am keeping score. What matters is what I think, not what others think of me; and I am willing to say what I think. That is the critical temperament.ā
"You can improve your talent, but your talent is a given, a mysterious constant. You must make it the best of its kind."
ā Gore Vidal, my toxic opinionated egocentric guiding light in this sick sad world (quotes which are not broadly inspirational but are inspirational to me to be my best most audacious evil hater self)
May 27, 2024
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I find often in media, specifically meta media, that we are told materialism (and its association to capitalism and greed) is a sickening disease. A disease that traps us to our boring, normal and sometimes if we are lucky enough, corporate lives. Lives without schizo episodes of terrorism, young boy play things, and massive bank heists. But Iām not so sure it IS a disease ...It canāt be a disease.
Or maybe it's precisely that becauseĀ our lives have been shortened by the disease, that I may expand my pathetic record collection into something bigger and continue making āinvestmentsā on my epic, old school pokemon collection.
āThe things you own end up owning you"
Ā -Tyler Durden.
I fucking hope not, Iām this: |_| close to filling my new display case with action figures and I will not become batman's bitch.
To see the opposite side of views we subscribe to, is not a difficult thing these days and yet my desire for materialism is supported by very fucking few (comedically, academically and socially).
If weed and alcohol is supported and opposed, then why the fuck is no one arguing about my main poison materialism?
A case for making your own homestead or even starting that epic #vanlife is so constantly supported and yet the lives we first world masses occupy is celebratedā¦when? Or maybe itās truly as the pedos say?
āThe greatest wealth is to live content with littleā
-Plato.
Youāre right Mr Pedo, at least everyone believes that to be right, but in my first world society what most would consider āthe greatest wealthā Iād consider ālittleā.
Is it so much to ask for a massive one of a kind library in my house that's sitting on a few acres of fertile land? The kind of library that says, āMy cock may be small, but my ego more than makes up for it!ā -No, it isnāt so much to ask for, and if I could have it my way, it wouldn't be āso muchā for anyone. (See! I'm a humanitarian!)
I stumbled across this account on Instagram that seems to be going against the trends of #vanlife and homesteading with his reels depicting a ānormal lifeā.The user romanticises the stability of a 9-5 office job (or rather the stability of HIS 9-5 office job.) that America seemed to adore so much, and kinda still does???Ā
For a proud capitalist he makes me surprisingly sick to be honest. Preaching his trademarked phrase, āNormalise the Normā along with well edited windows into his unsurprisingly grey life. When did the ānormā become so fucking colourless?
He isnāt nearly as exciting as or even palatable as a Japanese guy travelling around and living out out of his Kei truck or a big bearded man and his funny dog building a homestead.
I must say though. It is nice to see someone defend our collective desire to hold onto our stonesā¦Like an otter!
And donāt worry (My teachers always taught me not to begin a sentence with āAndā, but Iām a big boy now so you can go get fucked) - I do still romanticise the other side - The other political side if I may indulge even more actually.Ā
The idea of shedding it all and running away, Hopping from person to person, bed to bed and adventure to adventure (STI to STI) is fucking fantastic! A dream perpetrated by my favourite explorer (Indiana Jones) and my favourite slave trader (Sir Francis Drake). Even now after discovering how accessible it is for me to have the comfy materialistic life, I find myself thinking about that badass āHeatā quote:
"Donāt let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds if you feel the heat around the corner.ā - Not Al Pochino.
Hmm, nah fuck all that. Materialistic people shouldnāt have to worry about āthe heat around the cornerāĀ anyway.Ā
Iām not sure I truly believe in materialism, only that I hope itās not as bad as people say it is, because I have no intention of stopping.
Ā
ā You, the reader, should tell me what you think (without forgetting that the title says my questions are rhetorical of course). -I wonāt change my mind, but maybe Iāll discover someone as arrogant as me, and that would be cool.
Jan 5, 2025
Really funny and surprising article about how reviewing the 1996 film The English Patient for a small newspaper in the 90s basically started the chain of events which led to the author becoming a Marxist
Itās also about how getting all the things you thought you wantedāthen losing themāmight be the best thing that ever happens to you
āI used to think I thought the right way, like, who cares if everyone does bad things, because bad things are just what important people have to do. Who cares if Barack Obama bombs people and doesnāt even try to prosecute bankers, because thatās all just his job, and he loves gay people and yells at bigots and his wife is smart and has great arms. Who cares if Hillary Clinton is best friends with Henry Kissinger, because she is a woman and so am I, and she stands up to men, and isnāt that what feminism is all about, finally getting into the rooms, finally getting to be the one to kill the people who donāt matter? Since my life was a fantasy, I had no trouble inhabiting a larger one.ā
Nov 12, 2024
š
Firs tthing- walter Ben-ya-meen. If u bring him up in conversation and say ben ja min ur gonna look like an idiot apparently. But its funny bc its not like people say Valter Benyameen. They say walter. Go figure.
Anyways this text is So Great. im definitely late to the game to this contexts of frankfurt dialectics, post war philosophy manifestos, yada yada but this one is so powerful and formative esp if ur an artist or visual creator that is Woke. Its one of his more accessible writings, and he is also a very important person to kno if u r even remotely into literature/philosophie/art/design/criticism etc.
Benyameen talks about this loss/absence of human experience post war/industrual revolution whcih i think is rlly the root of all this floptok based retard gang xiaohongshu on the extreme side, but even at its most tame (yet this is more insidious/barbaric in the bad way as Benyameen puts it) all of these miu miu shoe unboxing, day in the life of a big city transplant, clean consumerism we are witness to online. It is rlly this central idea of experience that hit home for me, and the resulting idea of barbarism which fr opened my third eye and put words to the feelings of trying to contextualize our days of Today. Im also totally going to start using the word barbarian to describe creatives and intellectuals and world leaders haha. Be the Good Barbarian.
dm me if u want my annotated copy i culd keep going but arent these meant to be kept short idk<3
Jan 20, 2024
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āLife shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.ā
ā AnaĆÆs Nin
This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that Iāve safely landed at the start of my new life. Itās honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think itās important to share.
Iāve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, weād have been together for 11 years, and weāve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with peopleāto rediscover my voice.
I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. Heās been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. Iāve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see.
Iāve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitelyābut someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial andĀ logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and itās going to be tough for a while but Iām going to be better than okay!
Now Iām opening up to you. This isnāt the only abuse Iāve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible.
I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolationāand breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom.
Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me š
Mar 16, 2025
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebodyābe it a relative or one of my best friendsāwas to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too š
Feb 23, 2025
Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ā
š
Feb 27, 2025