Stuff From My Notes
Random stuff I dictate to my iPhone Notes app while driving
Welcome to what I am sure will not be the last but it is the first mind dumping of ideas that come to me when I'm driving, which is a lot.
Let's dive in.
Story Ideas
Short story idea: the passion trap. The idea that following the path of doing the things you love in life can often times leads you into frustrating places you wish you weren't.
Short form story idea: the strange parallel between Robin convincing me not to leave Sarah in the Spring of 2008 as a projection of her own relationship issues with her then fiancé Tim.
How that then comes full circle in the summer of 2010 when we both end up getting divorced around the same time.
Short story, songs in my head:
“If I only had a brain”
“Peter and the wolf theme”
“Hall of the mountain king”
“How we pass the day away in the merry old land of oz”
Short story: My use of filler words: my use of “um” and “you know” in recordings.
Notes on Dreaming in Darkness Revision:
One. I’d like to see that this has been building slowly and that the hero himself has noticed some changes, but it’s not yet alarmed by them in the country he serves. Concerned, but not alarmed, he is a white man after all.
But there have been slow changes that are constantly being justified to him that he is becoming uneasy with. He will exist in a timeframe forward from the present, so I’m thinking about perhaps we should set this in America in the year 2035, 2040.
Consider a possible title e pluribus unum, I think that would be fitting for what we’re fighting.
Have a story start with a flashback to a really glorious freedom moment where the hero established themselves and put the world in a place where he felt truly righteous, and it was justified, but now it’s a fading memory of what was.
The hero has been one of those who’s been around long enough to remember when things were good and has had the hardest time and is having a hard time figuring out why everything is fading into this dog grave, this technocratic approach to reality that is underlying deeply disturbing authoritarianism.
Lincoln was assassinated in act three scene two. Try that into my dreaming and darkness story I feel like that would be a fun little thing. Tie in political assassinations to the Times of classic political assassinations if no.
Planning for the Future
Stories for TikToks (Not Funny Politics Daily)
This is where I do most of my political, Monday through Friday, cathartic release of the nonsense we live in today.
1. I'm going to have to talk about this Paramount Deal Merger and controversy around 60 Minutes and point out that someone should ask Trump: “Did you win the election? Yes…then shut the fuck up stop asking for bribes.”
2. I want to repeat with Sara Longwell said about the country we live in as being the land of the free, the home of the brave, and I want to use as an opportunity to encourage other people who were following me or not following me to speak up. Tell him how I hated getting in front of the camera. Tell them how it's not always my favorite thing to do. Tell them to be entertaining tell them to be informative but tell the truth and spread the word because I don't want to end up living in an authoritarian state under Maga cards
Substack Ideas
Monday
TikTok on patriotism and article from the Atlantic about being a patriot
Make sure to incorporate Adam Kinzinger’s conversation with Tim Miller from their live show that came out Thursday. He and I are simpatico.
Friday
A breakdown of Douglas Rushkoff’s Program Or Be Programmed if I’m finished with it. If not, move it to next Friday after.
Monday
leadership and the needs for flexibility (See next bit)
An idea for the Substack: I'm thinking about a couple of different things I may want to talk about but one things that's in my head right now is the idea of human beings particularly President of the United States being figures who evolve in time and over their time, particularly in office.
For example Abraham Lincoln about slavery, most of the presents find some other examples, but the weird thing is that Trump is the intensity of all of this he does not evolve he is a static creature who has not really changed any of his views since he was an adult in the 1970s. It shows the decision he makes. Tariffs and the like.
Notes and presidential examples to go along with Trump, but also investigate if there is any psychological study or sociological studies about evolution and human individuals over their lifespan of their beliefs. I can attest to mine, but also if there is any study particularly of leaders. One really good example is Teddy Roosevelt and his approach to completing the Panama Canal.
theory of evolution, humans, and in leaders
My personal evolution
Evolution of past presidents and leaders
Donald Trump being static
https://www.drabundant.com/p/embrace-the-evolution-of-your-beliefs
https://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/5/1/3
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268118302063
The ability of political leaders to evolve their beliefs is a complex topic influenced by various factors, including their personality, the context of their role, and the influence of their environment.
Leaders may demonstrate this ability through adapting their communication styles, demonstrating flexibility in decision-making, and exhibiting the willingness to consider diverse perspectives.
Elaboration:
· Personality and Self-Awareness:
Leaders who are self-aware and open to new information are more likely to evolve their beliefs. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and are more willing to consider alternative viewpoints.
· Context and Situation:
The context in which a leader operates can significantly impact their ability to evolve their beliefs. For example, a leader facing a crisis may be more likely to adopt new policies or strategies than one in a stable period.
· Influence and Social Dynamics:
Leaders can be influenced by their followers, colleagues, and advisors. They may adjust their beliefs to better align with the needs and expectations of their constituents.
· Communication and Rhetoric:
Leaders who can communicate effectively and persuasively are more likely to influence others' beliefs and potentially their own. They can frame issues in a way that resonates with their audience and encourages them to consider new perspectives.
· Decision-Making and Flexibility:
Leaders who are flexible in their decision-making and willing to consider diverse options are more likely to evolve their beliefs. They can adapt their strategies based on new information and changing circumstances.
· Vision and Inspiration:
Transformational leaders, who inspire their followers to embrace new ideals, may also evolve their beliefs as they encounter new challenges and opportunities.
· Political Skills:
Leaders who possess political skills, such as social astuteness and interpersonal influence, can effectively navigate complex political landscapes and adapt their beliefs to achieve their goals.
I want one of my Substack posts to elaborate more on why I called Tucker Carlson a modern-day Father Conklin. I want to address/respond to what Mr. Donald Barker criticized me about, misconstruing my criticism as an indictment of sort of condemning all Catholics Father Conklin. I want to unpack that more detail and point out why that is not an attack on all Catholics but an attack on a bigot.
Thinking About Thinking Podcast
My next thinking about thinking topic is going to be mental health and mental illness. Think about the ways I've tried to talk to my own students about it and about my run in with Esther from a couple years ago that cost us our friendship because she didn't seem to understand that if this is a topic that students are wanting to talk about don't ignore it
Cartoons and More
Cartoon with two images the first image is a person burning the American flag while in their head they are thinking about American patriotism and the flag waving righteously versus an ice enforcement officer arresting somebody in their head there having the Blackburn in their mind
Idea for a comic book or comic strip the idea of drawing a straight line from A to B and use this to illustrate how some people can draw a straight line of conclusions to an issue some people have a really hard time drawing a straight line some people are smart enough to use a ruler in this case a stand in for like research and obtained knowledge and then some people like conspiracy theorist and end up drawing a straight line to point C.
The ruler metaphor, rather than being research could be experience and like a double straight line could be research.
Random Thoughts on the World
There is a value in the fact that maybe we should get back to a more pluralistic and community orientated society because one of the reasons why Donald Trump is able to exploit our world today is because of our hyper individualistic world where we don't look up from our phones and we don't say things like please and thank you courtesy to each other and that's a problem he's exploiting
Motto in God We Trust. Who is the “we” in that statement? I think for a lot of people it’s people who look like me. I think we really should return to the motto e pluribus unum.
Kindness has become the counterculture, time for Superman to embrace his original countercultural design.
It may be worth investigating the incongruity of the things Trump talks about and the things the actual government does. Both from a position of incompetence and corruption but also just plain they don't know what they're doing.
I want to compose a short story about literature and male obsessiveness with their penis. Track it through literary history. Consider Melville and Captain Ahab losing his leg as a penis metaphor. Find more of those and write about it. Any story with Rocket in it.
There is a way of seeing Andor Season 1 and 2 like along with Rogue One a Shakespearean play.
Teddy Roosevelt like to use the phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick” when he referred to diplomacy. Donald Trump seems to “boast and yell loudly and carry a sharpie.”
Ukraine is the new Armenia between Persia and Rome, it’s now between Europe and Russia.
The way that Trump acts like an eastern potentate. We should smear him the way that Caesar Augustus smeared Marc Anthony back in the day.. Just for that for fun.
Random Quotations I Hear or Invent
“History is just one fucking thing after another.” – Alan Bennett
“If there is anything that I 100% believe in is the fact that nobody in the world, not one person, knows 100% about anything.” – Me
“Ulysses is James Joyce talking about or counting the experiences of the time he got a really good hand job from his wife.” – QAA podcast
Well, that’s all for now…what a week! LOL.