Quote Of The Day: David Mitchell

Once a mystery is solved, it takes on the sterility of a joke explained.

— author David Mitchell, May 26, 2002, Bookworm (NPR) radio interview

Armageddon Happens Every Day

If you’re unlucky enough to be a species at the mercy of man…

–linkswipe via reddit

Go Read Alan Pritt’s Blog

Unlike me, he doesn’t post cranky stuff. And his stuff, again unlike mine, is actually worth reading!

I’ll make it easy for your lazy ass:

What Button Changes the Channel?

How to change the channel in 12 easy steps

First Chocolate This Year

Chocolate! Brain food, sex stimulant, the crack cocaine of eats.

Previously in this blog:
Quote Of The Day: Alan Pritt
Alan Pritt Sees Far
Memos To Sony (Part 1 in a Series)

Step Right Up, Folks, And Watch The Last Gasp Of The Dinosaurs!

Who is suing YouTube for copyright infringement

Among the plaintiffs:

The New Jersey Turnpike for use of certain surveillance footage.

Can you believe it?

Another DUH! Article Twenty-Five Years Too Late

More time spent on Web than newspapers: study

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. consumers this year will spend more of their day surfing the Internet than reading newspapers or going to the movies or listening to recorded music, according a study released on Tuesday.

Man, where were these people when the online choices, nationally, were just The Source and CompuServe? You had to per a per-hour fee to use those services but there were still people who practically lived on those things. Some people spent so much time in the CompuServe CB Simulator they’d wrack up bills close to $1,000/month! And then there were hundreds of Bulletin-Board Systems across the nation (and then around the world). The decline in time spent on other activities began back then.

You see this shit only becomes real when The Suits — the Overgarchy — have their money at stake.

Which is why they will always be behind the pop-cultural curve.

The Shadow Of Doomsday Appears…

China threatens ‘nuclear option’ of dollar sales

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning – for the first time – that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.

Described as China’s “nuclear option” in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.

It would also cause a spike in US bond yields, hammering the US housing market and perhaps tipping the economy into recession. It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds.

But then, maybe not:

Dollar to collapse?

Disregard all hysteria. The ailing Greenback will not collapse this year, not in ten years, not in twenty years, not in half a century. There is no credible currency against which it can collapse. (Unless you count gold). None of the world’s rival power blocs have the economic and demographic depth to challenge American dominance.

What both these views leave out is the obvious: The Third Way.

This is something I’ve meant to write about but haven’t gotten around to. Here’s the Very Brief Version:

There is never, ever a choice between only A or B. Never.

A or B is only in your head because that is all you are concentrating on: Do I do A or do I do B?

A or B is an illusion your mind has fallen into. It’s a neat little trap that appeals to your narcissism. It entirely ignores all other outside factors. And it’s often those outside factors that come along and blithely melt away the false dichotomy of A or B and provide an option or solution that was never considered and, most importantly, could have never been predicted.

Here’s an example.

You’re sitting on public transportation and some son of bitch is being a nuisance. It can be loud talking into a cellphone, whatever. What immediate choices spring to your mind? Well, for me — until I discovered The Third Way — only two: the A or B.

A: Do I change my seat?

B: Do I punch out this piece of shit?

Along comes C to your relief:

C1: The scum soon goes away on his own.

C2: Someone else comes along to correct the scum’s behavior.

C3: …

Sometimes the best action you can take is to just shut up and wait for C, The Third Way.

When Doomsday arrives here on earth, it will come from C. It will be The Third Way. And there’s no preparation for the unpredictable and the unexpected. So stop the worrying. It won’t help and it won’t change a thing.

And for all you eejits in thrall of that crap known as The Secret, you should notice it never, ever mentions The Third Way. (Hell, it doesn’t provide even the A or the B!)