What I've been into
- I’ve been working my way through Kubrick’s filmography lately, and Paths of Glory (1956) and Dr. Strangelove (1964) were both particularly relevant to my current situation. I’d like to draft up a full blog post about bureaucratic violence, because Kubrick is incredible at expressing how atrocities are committed by bored men doing paperwork over pastries and coffee, and none if it is fair or makes any sense.
- After listening to the Blank Check podcast on Lolita (1962), the guest mentioned the incredible prose of Nabokov, and referenced Pnin as a lighter read than Lolita, so I picked up a copy from the local library and started reading that.
- I also finally got my hands on Marx in the Anthropocene by Kohei Saito. I've only finished the first chapter so far, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.
- A former coworker works at Bluesky Social and invited me to the private beta that only had a few hundred people on it. I honestly think it’s the most fun I’ve had on a social networking platform since I was moderating a web forum in 2007. The community is incredible and everyone is so eager to make friends and build meaningful connections. It warms my heart and I’m so grateful I stumbled into it.
- My listening habits have been all over the place in the past few weeks. I've been cycling between Otis Redding, MxPx, Terror, and Dead Kennedys, and this weekend I've been listening to the new records from Can't Swim and Real Friends on repeat. I also want to shout out the new Rebecca Black record for being too catchy for its own good.
Musings
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This is my first time filing unemployment claims, and the whole process is god-awful. It’s paternalistic and infantilizing, not to mention unintuitive and inefficient. The website is barely functional, forms are long and inflexible (good luck finding the address and phone number for remote-only companies, unless you know how to look up the DUNS information), and the overhead required to do this much babysitting and means testing is an inconceivable waste of resources. I got my first “warning letter” for not meeting the minimum requirements during my second week—talking to several recruiters, scheduling meetings with professionals in my network, and preparing a portfolio and resume just doesn’t count, but if I had attended a virtual job fair with jobs with “wages ranging from $15 - $30 dollars an hour!”, I’d have been fine. The whole thing should be scrapped, alongside other horrifyingly wasteful welfare programs, and folded into a UBI that benefits everyone.
- Since drafting this, my claim for unemployment was denied, claiming "personal reasons/quit," so all this work has been for naught. I've filed an appeal, but genuinely, this system is egregious.
- I can barely see through my glasses. They’re scuffed and the coating is peeling after four-ish years. It’s awful. The next available appointment with my optometrist isn’t until mid-May though 😩
- This section got kinda bleak, but otherwise life is really good—I promise! I got a bunch of art supplies yesterday and will be painting more right after sending this 🎨
What about you?
Up to anything interesting? Have any thoughts or feelings after reading this? Just wanna say hi? If you want to reach out for any reason, just reply to this email and I’ll write you back ✉️✨