How we find motivation in life as in games ft. 'Game Frame' by Aaron Dignan

Being a dilettante I've always wondered about motivations. I know I'm a fan of novelty, it's why I enjoy travel and have skimmed through several hobbies. I've dabbled with parkour, BJJ and dragon boat racing among others.

Most recently I've been big into board games. A component of that scene is perpetually trying out new games. I know almost immediately whether I'll enjoy a game in the first few stages of play. I don't find worker placement (aka action drafting) as engaging as social deduction (aka bluffing) games. I struggle, as it's about finding value in amassing wealth and resources. Simulating something I'm already at odds with inside a game only sets off an existential crisis. Deception games on the other hand play into my fascination with social interaction and charisma. The imperative to survive and not lose face in front of friends and strangers is a compelling one. As a fan of politics and pro-wrestling and an avid watcher of 'Survivor', this genre has given me a taste of that world in a fun setting.

A photo posted by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Oct 28, 2016 at 8:29am PDT

I have a preference for casual games and was starting to wonder why. I realised that if I could ascertain what it was I liked in board games, I could better understand my wiring and in turn inform my approach to career and other pursuits. 'Game Frame' by Aaron Dignan illuminates the appeal of games through behavioural psychology. Here he explains the two conditions we face when embarking on a new challenge:

'Game Frame' by Aaron Dignan 

Game Frame Using: Games as a Strategy for Success
Lack of Volition. Volition is the will to do something; the motivation and internal drive to see it through. Any kind of proactive or ambitious behavior is evidence of strong volition. People who lack volition feel lost, bored, or disconnected from the task at hand. They can't see why an activity or behavior is worthwhile. A lack of volition is defined by disinterest, low involvement, and arrested development. An individual lacking volition says, "I'm not going to do that. Why would I? What's in it for me?"

Lack of Faculty. Faculty is the belief that we have the skills and tools to handle the challenges we're facing; that we know how to begin and have the confidence to pursue our goals. People who lack faculty in a particular situation may feel that it's too hard, or that it's unclear what they need to do to succeed. A lack of faculty is defined by anxiety, submission, and ultimately, despair. An individual lacking faculty says, "I can't do this. I'm not prepared. I don't know how."

Its a straightforward summation of the dichotomy we face when trying something new. Hitting the point home with a Joseph Campbell reference, Dignan illustrates the edge games have over ordinary life.

One of the reasons we love games is because they instantly place us on our own hero's journey, and from the comfort (and safety) of our living room. There's something tremendously satisfying about playing out an archetypal struggle in which each of us, for the duration of the game at least, is the chosen one. Unlike so many other settings where seemingly meaningless and repetitive tasks frustrate us, in games we are at one with our story... Being part of a story, and one in which we know we're expected to prevail, plays to our sense of volition and faculty beautifully. We come to desire the victory that story presupposes, and we simply must find a way to win.

Games' afoot in Houston

This blog is on the analogy that Life is one big video game, that we do live in the "Matrix". It seems through board games I've just found an analog version of the simulation echo.

Weezer, The Get Up Kids and Morrissey: On the right to be alone

A photo posted by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Mar 23, 2016 at 6:25pm PDT

Some of my oldest band tees include a shirt from 'The Get Up Kids', picked up at the second gig I ever went to and a Pinkerton 'Weezer' shirt. Craig Schuftan in his book detailing the hidden roots of rock and roll, references both bands to describe why some unwittingly remain alone.

'Hey, Nietzsche! Leave them kids alone' (2009)
by Craig Schuftan

Hey, Nietzsche! Leave them kids alone: The Romantic movement, rock and roll, and the end of civilisation as we know it
In 'Why Bother?' the singer thinks about finding a girlfriend, but finds insufficient grounds for action. It's like a super-pessimistic version of Wham!'s 'Last Christmas'. Before he's even picked up the phone he's reasoned his way to the following summer, when she'll no doubt dump him and break his heart. So he remains alone. The singer has proved his intelligence while ensuring that he remains miserable. This line of thinking leads to greater and greater inertia -- taken to its logical conclusion, the singer must renounce the search for happiness entirely and derive whatever kicks he can from monkish self-denial...

The Get Up Kids are one of the scores of bands who followed the example of Pinkerton, exploring the lonely landscape Weezer had discovered long after Cuomo himself had moved on. In the Get Up Kids' 'I'm a Loner, Dottie, a Rebel', the hero tells us that last night he was in love, and that the possibility is still there. But sitting by the girl's bedside in the morning, he reasons his way out of whatever future they might have together. 'I'm afraid to try,' he admits, 'I'll keep my hands by my side.' A real man, a natural man (a jock, a Limp Bizkit fan) would do something. But for the Get Up Kids and their fans, this kind of 'action' is deeply suspect... the heroes of the scene tend to be of the static, intellectual type.

Morrissey, in his songs, demands the right to be miserable and alone. This doesn't sound like too much to ask -- but the world keeps telling him he has to cheer up and get over it... And since he steadfastly refuses to do this, his position has, over the years, become more and more entrenched. What started out as a polite request has turned into a war of attrition... The world has refused to accept his personality. No wonder he's determined not to give up the fight. In this war, what's at stake is nothing less than the human soul. 

Eeep!

Marc Maron in conversation with Jason Segel: On discontent when things couldn't possibly be better

PODCAST: WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 623 - Jason Segel

Actor Jason Segel in conversation with Comedian Marc Maron discusses the persistent feeling of discontent even when things are going as good as they could be. Particularly poignant as Jason quietly battled alcoholism whilst seemingly hitting his stride in Hollywood. Similarly Marc Maron built a career as a comic's comic who never found mainstream success. The early episodes of his now seminal WTF podcast highlighting his struggle with having close "famous" friends, craving recognition whilst having a perpetually peripheral experience of success. Over 300+ episodes it has tracked Marc's conversion from frustrated marginal genius to arguably the Godfather of modern comedy, recently being the first to record a full podcast with a sitting American President.

Jason Segel describes the affinity he shared with author David Foster Wallace who he plays in his latest movie 'End of the Tour' (2015), as well as the interviewer he plays against David Lipsky as embodied by Jesse Eisenberg.

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 623 - Jason Segel
SEGEL: The themes of the movie really resonated with me. Its a lot about what we're talking about, outside the comedy about actually being the person. What happens when things are going as well as they possibly can and you still feel the same? This movie ['The End of the Tour'] takes place over the last 4 days, its about David Foster Wallace. Its the last 4 days of the 'Infinite Jest' book tour, its called the voice of a generation, it came out and did as well it could do. He didn't feel better...

VIDEO: 'The End of the Tour' trailer (2015)

On what we're looking for

JESSE EISENBERG: (1h 06m 25s) That was the lens I saw it through, a guy talking to himself on the beginning end of a tunnel. Lipsky is looking up at David Foster Wallace saying "God it must be great to be you? You must feel great? You must feel terrific? What's it like to be so famous?" and David Foster Wallace looking back at him saying "Kid, be careful what you wish for. If you get to where I am you're not going to feel better
MARC MARON: And that's sad
SEGEL: Yeah its sad but its very real and I actually think that one of the reasons David Foster Wallace resonates with people is that he's a man who had the vocabulary to express something that we all feel and maybe are too scared to talk about openly
MARON: Which is? The existential loneliness that persists
SEGEL: Yeeeeah, you're promised by our culture that if you achieve X, Y or Z of if you obtain X, Y or Z or watch this marathon of 'Real Housewives' that you're going to feel better and it turns out that its not true and people are really operating on that assumption and get to that destination and find out its vacant
MARON: But its rare that a person can investigate that loneliness like he did, sadly most people percolate along with a mild feeling of dissatisfaction and anxiety that they can't pinpoint but he decided to explore the underpinnings of existence in relation to these expectations and the onslaught of sensations available 

On Life imitating art

MARC MARON: (1h) ... This character, how close to your experience was it?
JASON SEGEL: At this point in my life, it felt like kismet... I had gotten sober 2 and a half years ago. I'm a year and a half sober at that point, my TV show was coming to an end and I was in a real moment of "What do I do now?". There's a line in the movie that is kinda verbatim from what David Foster Wallace said in this interview - "I have to face the reality now of being 34 years old alone in a room with a piece of paper" and that's what I felt at this point. My safety net was gone. The fact I had a financial safety net didn't really apply to what I felt.
MARON: It doesn't, does it?
SEGEL: No, of course not. Well not "of course not". I suppose from looking outside of it you would think "Of course it does".
MARON: It actually makes it [worse], for a lot of people "What are you complaining about?". But the truth of the matter is, the sad thing when you're in that position is that you do have that and you have these feelings and they're almost compounded. Then you're like "WTF is wrong with me? I can eat wherever I want and I can buy that car if I want to".
SEGEL: This is what the movie is to me, in my opinion. What the movie is, its basically a transcript of this interview that a guy called David Lipsky did with David Foster Wallace where 'Rolling Stone' sent him out to spend the last 4 days of the book tour with him.
MARON: What I noticed about this movie in retrospect is, who is this movie really about?...
SEGEL: I actually think its about a feeling that if you treat yourself (and listen to a speech that David Foster Wallace gave called 'This is Water', its a Kenyon Commencement Speech). It is addressing the exact thing we're talking about in this interview which is Where do you place your value and what is going to address this itch that we keep trying to scratch that's telling us we're not there? That we're not enough. If its success, you'll never be successful enough. If its money, you'll never have enough money. If its talent, you'll never be adored enough. You have to find something else and I just really related to that.

We all go through it no matter how big you are

SEGEL: (1h 17m 30s) No matter how well you're doing, you're going to have feelings about not being enough. You're going to have feelings of dissatisfaction and its tough to find people to talk about that with if, People are all the same if you basically sound like you're whining.
MARON: Or you're seen as the guy who should have everything. You have to have real friends is basically what it is.
SEGEL: Its codified in myth since the beginning of time, this is a Universal feeling. The King feels the same way
MARON: And who's going to feel bad for the king? F*ck that guy. He's the King!

"Everydayness": Heidegger on death and Kevin Garnett playing a midseason game in Charlotte

<< crossposted on '30 Home Games' blog

An aging Kevin Garnett VS Charlotte's Cody Zeller.  

What does champion NBA power forward Kevin Garnett have to do with influential thinker Martin Heidegger? Authors Daniel M. Klein and Thomas Cathcart in their humorous book on the philosophy of death finds a way to explain Heidegger's often complicated ideas via a basketball analogy

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates:
Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between

Ch 4. Heideggerty-Dog, Ziggity-Boom, What You Do to Me
Look at it this way: Say you're Kevin Garnett and this is Game 7 of the NBA Finals. You're going to play with way more intensity, way more energy, way more life, than in one of those dreary Thursday night midseason games in Charlotte. Heidegger called the latter "everydayness," and he put it down as the ultimate drag. So let's face it squarely, Daryl, this -- right here, right now -- is Game 7 of the Finals, and what a joy it is to be here!

For Heidegger, the worst possible news would be that our souls are immortal. That would condemn us to a never-ending string of those Thursday night games in Charlotte.

My only quibble is the use of Garnett for the example. He's arguably the most consistent and unfailingly intense player currently in the L.

How the Movie of our life ends: Linklater's film 'BoyHood' and Duncan Watts' book 'Everything is Obvious'

VICE Meets: Richard Linklater on the Making of "Boyhood"

Director Richard Linklater describes 'Boyhood' (2014) as a meditation on "Growing up, its about time passing and life going on". Linklater is adept at incorporating grand existential themes in his films. As the movie was shot and written over the span of 12 years, it reflects the malaise and meandering we have through the passage of time. Like any good narrative the viewer remains uncertain as to how it will develop or end, the unconventional filmmaking process making the stakes higher. This is reflected in Grantland's 'Straight to Video' review of the film

CHRIS CONNELLY: (4m 21s) He, I feel hasn't settled into a rhythm yet because he doesn't know where the story is going and that's the thing that's so interesting. So big things can't happen in quite the same way we expect from a movie because he's remaining open - Rick is - to what's gonna happen next in these kid's lives.

Without spoiling the movie, 'BoyHood' closes with several beats which might have constituted an "ending" had they been handled by another Writer/Director. In keeping with the theme of time passing and mirroring life itself Linklater chooses an unassuming scene to ultimately punctuate a narrative told with such moments.

I'm currently in the process of reading two books, 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell and 'Everything is Obvious' by Duncan J. Watts. I was surprised through the course of reading both that they contradicted each other. Duncan cautions against Post Hoc fallacies, not to be misled by conclusions drawn after the fact. In 'Chapter 5: History, the Fickle Teacher' with subheadings like "History cannot be told while it's happening" and "Whoever tells the best story wins" he describes the difficulty in evaluating something as ephemeral as a moment in time.

'Everything is Obvious [*Once You Know the Answer]:
How Common Sense Fails' by Duncan Watts

Chapter 5: History, the Fickle Teacher
Within the narrow confines of a movie narrative, it seems obvious the right time to evaluate everything should be at the end. But in real life, the situation is far more ambiguous. Just as the characters in a story don't know when the ending is, we don't know when the movie of our own life will reach its final scene. And even if we did, we could hardly go around evaluating all choices, however trivial, in light of our final state on our deathbed. In fact, even then we couldn't be sure of the meaning of what we accomplished...
In reality, the events that we label as outcomes are never really endpoints. Instead, they are artificially imposed milestones, just as the ending of a movie is really an artificial end to what in reality is an ongoing story. And depending on where we choose to impose an "end" to a process, we may infer very different lessons from the outcome.

Linklater offers this epiphany on his process, "I guess the key thing is to still think it's worth it". A friend recently remarked as we evaluated the intervening decade since we'd known each other - "As long as you're happy today, you'll have no regrets about your past because everything was leading up to this point".
Fin

Find other posts that reference Richard Linklater
- 'Loz in Transit' on the radio: Talking 'Waking Life' and existentialism
- Searchlab Lecture: Richard Linklater talking about being at peace with your art
- Home Movies: 'Before Sunrise' - "I've never been anywhere" quote
- Anticipation for 'Before Midnight' and why 'Before Sunrise' is my favorite movie (No Spoilers)
- Anticipation for 'Boyhood' and why Richard Linklater is my favorite director
- How the Movie of our life ends: Linklater's film 'BoyHood' and Duncan Watts' book 'Everything is Obvious'

National Geographic: The Japanese perspective on aging and happiness

Ecuador is an intriguing place, easily the most striking Country I've seen. A place you truly believe you could relocate too. You'll find many others have had the same idea and followed through. From retirees and escapees to young hippies and entrepreneurs. One of the perks of these settlements are the fancy eateries and artesan spaces that crop up for a fraction of the cost back home.

I found this rasta joint in Baños with some old school National Geographic's for table reading.

Vintage 'National Geographic' magazines at Afro Caribbean joint in Baños, Ecuador

National Geographic, January 1994
Kyushu: Japan's Southern Gateway
"Life is more comfortable than when I was growing up," he said, as we watched the sun dip behind the emerald hills that bordered his rice fields. But he added mischievously: "Too bad people have become so boring".

"Our village has a big electronics plant here now employing 1,200 people" he explained. "Golf courses are popping up, and we've got plenty of tax money rolling. But something's missing. The young people stumble around with a dazed look on their faces". The old folks, whose stories of village life were once the riveting source of entertainment and wisdom, can't compete with MTV...

Nowadays, the old folks watch Game Shows on TV. What good is long life asks Yoshihiro, if it ends in loneliness and boredom?

16-Year-Old Malala Yousafzai's message on the 'Daily Show': "That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want"

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Malala Yousafzai delivered a powerful message on the 'Daily Show', the Pakistani teen shot in the head by a Taliban soldier in 2012 when she was only 14. An advocate for education and women's rights, she has released a memoir co-written with veteran journalist Christina Lamb. A book the 'Washington Post' says should be read "not only for its vivid drama but for its urgent message about the untapped power of girls."

VIDEO: 'The Daily Show' Extended Interview - Malala Yousafzai

'The Daily Show' (September 2013)
MALALA YOUSAFZAI: I started thinking about that, and I used to think that the Talib would come, and he would just kill me. But then I said, 'If he comes, what would you do Malala?' then I would reply to myself, 'Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.' But then I said, 'If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others with cruelty and that much harshly, you must fight others but through peace and through dialogue and through education.' Then I said I will tell him how important education is and that 'I even want education for your children as well.' And I will tell him, 'That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want.

"By doing interesting things" excerpt from 'How to be single' by Liz Tuccillo

Found this interesting excerpt on a bookshelf at a Backpacker's in Rosario, Argentina. You can almost imagine the type of solo traveler that would have brought this book for their journey. I've definitely felt pangs of this in my solo adventures abroad and at home.

'How to Be Single: A Novel' by Liz Tuccillo

Excerpt from 'How to Be Single' (USA Today)
"By staying busy. By doing interesting things. I kayak in the Hudson, rock climb at Chelsea Piers, take carpentry classes at Home Depot, which you should totally do with me, by the way, I made an amazing cabinet, and I'm also thinking about taking this sailing course at the South Street Seaport. I'm keeping busy doing things I find interesting, so that I can trick myself into forgetting that I'm really just trying to look for guys. Because you can't look desperate. That's the worst."

As she is telling people this, she often comes across as a little deranged, particularly because she's usually chain-popping Tums as she says all this. Her indigestion problems stem, I believe, from a little acid reflux condition called "I'm terrified of being alone."

The book was written by Liz Tuccillo who co-authored the runaway phenomenon 'He's Just Not That Into You' with comedian Greg Behrendt.

Backpacking Round the World Trip - A modern day "Hero's Journey" (Joseph Campbell)

<< crossposted on the 'Loz in Translation' blog

Are you about to embark on a Round-the-World trip? Have you recently returned from an epic adventure and wondering what to do next? Do you have a yearning to travel, voyaging to foreign lands, exploring exotic cultures and meeting interesting people?

It's the classic template for 'The Hero's Journey' as elucidated by Joseph Campbell, found in myths around the world and mirrored in popular works such as 'Star Wars' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. Whilst our modern day travels might not have the magic of these mythical quests, what with our GPS, crowdsourced tips and online booking there remains the sense of wonder and discovery even if the roads are paved and well-trodden. Myself, I prefer traveling with as little foreknowledge of a place as possible, guided by my instincts rather than technology. Its my way of preserving some sense of adventure.

If you've read even a few travel blogs, you might be familiar with certain tropes. Posts addressing whether long-term Travelers are running away or towards something. Advice on how to free oneself from the shackles of debt or comfort. These themes recur because they are part of the human condition, torn between needing to branch out and being rooted with our comforts. A cycle that began at birth.

Comparing long-term travel and Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's journey"

Whilst our trips may not be as outlandish as those found in legend, to us they are still the stuff of fantasy. People often remark that the treasure at the end of the journey was finding themselves, for a lucky few they may have even snagged the Princess.

VIDEO: The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell (1987)

The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell (1987)
NARRATOR: (43m 30s) The 'Hero with a Thousand faces' was the synthesis of years of work. In his book, Campbell outlined the Hero's Journey he had seen repeated in cultures around the world. He saw the hero as a personification of a Culture's mythology. Traditionally the hero might be a warrior, the ideal of strength and courage. An explorer, a founder of civilisations. A philosopher, an adventurer of the mind. And in the modern world, Campbell would add the artist and the scientist to the pantheon of heroes but the journey is essentially the same - One shape shifting story of the vision quest that transforms the world.

Whether it is Odysseus, King Arthur or Luke Skywalker. The hero is the one who responds to the call to Adventure. The stories often open with the hero appearing restless, something is missing in life, there is a feeling of destiny. It is a time for separation, sometimes it takes a shock to make the final break from the past and gain the final courage to accept the call. But noone can go it alone, everyone needs a mentor to provide wisdom and magical power...

The descent to the underworld of adventure is often blocked by dangerous threshold guardians. They mark the point of no return. Beyond them is the region of the unknown, a dreamlike labyrinth of tests and trials. To pass his initiation, the hero must become a Dragonslayer - seize the treasure or rescue the Princess. But the decisive ordeal of the quest is when the hero confronts death, he is challenged to follow the wisdom of his heart....

Find some of my favorite Movie posts below:
- Read more about the "Hero's Journey" (aka The Monomyth)
- Coming Home from a year abroad. Reverse Culture shock and beating the travel Blues: The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Home Movies: 'Before Sunrise' - "I've never been anywhere" quote
- Find all my 'Movie' posts here

- Traveling life as a movie
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Adventure

Good Will Hunting : "You're just a kid" scene

VIDEO: Good Will Hunting - "You're just a kid"

'Good Will Hunting' (1997) quotes
SEAN: Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me? Will: No. Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about. Will: Why thank you. Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston. Will: Nope. Sean: So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You're an orphan right?

Home Reading: 'Lost at Sea' by Jon Ronson

I've talked about my fascination with the lives and experiences of others. Its the premise of the podcast and is highlighted by the way I like to travel - "Ego-Tripping", the exchange of stories and CouchSurfing.

Jon Ronson is a British writer that is a inspiration of mine. The back of his latest book 'Lost at Sea' aptly describes him as being "fascinated by madness, strange behaviour and the human mind, and he has spent his life exploring mysterious events and meeting extraordinary people". A man after my own heart.

'Lost at Sea" The Jon Ronson Mysteries' by Jon Ronson

Jon Ronson on the power of the mind, spending time with NLP Co-founder Richard Bandler and TV Hypnotist Paul McKenna

Don't worry, get therapy by Jon Ronson (The Guardian. May 2006)
... The NLP training manual we delegates have been handed is a confusing mix of psychobabble and diagrams marked "submodalities" and "kinesthetics", etc. But from what I can gather, NLP is a way of "re-patterning" the human brain to turn us into super-beings - confident, non-phobic, thin super-beings who could sell coals to Newcastle and know what people are thinking just by their eye movements. It is the theory that we are computers and can be reprogrammed as easily as computers can. You were abused as a child? Forget therapy: just turn off the bit of the brain that remembers the abuse. You want to become a great salesperson? NLP will reprogram you. Our winks, our ticks, our seemingly insignificant choice of words - they all make up a map of our innermost desires and doubts: read the customer and make the sale.

Jon Ronson on Hyperreality, spending time with Real life Superheroes

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...Some Dude?! by Jon Ronson (GQ. August 2011)
... It's the next afternoon. There's a comic convention in town, at the Washington State Convention Center in the business district. There are something like 30,000 people here, families and costumed comic fans, packing the modern glass building. I spot Knight Owl and another Seattle superhero named Skyman.
He is only semicostumed. He's unmasked and goateed, and he's wearing a white T-shirt with a Skyman logo of his own design. "Ooh, look, the Rocketeer!" he says at a passing costumed attendee. "You never see Rocketeer costumes! That is priceless! I gotta get me a photo of that! Ooh! Lady Riddler! Nice!" Skyman approaches a Batman. "Is that a real bulletproof outfit?" he asks him. "No," Batman replies a little apologetically.
"This place," I tell Knight Owl, "is full of costumed people who would never confront drug dealers in the middle of the night. You and Phoenix and Skyman exist in some shadow world between fantasy and reality." "Yeah," Knight Owl replies. "What we do is hyperreality!"

- Ego Tripping: (A vacation from yourself)
- Louis Theroux, Couchsurfing and Holland
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Adventure
- Trigger: Ego Tripping in Portugal - Sintra, Obidos, Ericeria, Coimbra
- Trigger: Egotripping II - England, on the road again
- Albert Camus on the Writer, the Actor and the Traveller

Albert Camus on the Writer, the Actor and the Traveller

<< crossposted on the 'Loz in Translation' blog

'The Myth of Sisyphus' by Albert Camus

For as long as I can remember I've always been curious about other people's lives and being a fly on the wall. It's where my passion for documentaries, DVD commentaries and podcasts stem from. It's also what I've found most fascinating about travel, the dynamic experience and exchange of stories which I've explored through Couchsurfing and 'ego-tripping'.

Though I have a good friend who is a big proponent of French philosopher Albert Camus, I've only recently become familiar with his work. A passage on drama in his book 'Myth of Sisyphus' sheds some light on the root of my fascination.

Myth of Sisyphus
Hence the actor has chosen multiple fame, the fame that is hallowed and tested. From the fact the everything is to die some day he draws the best conclusion, An actor succeeds or does not succeed. A writer has some hope even if he is not appreciated. He assumes that his works will bear witness to what he was...

What more revelatory epitome can be imagined than those marvellous lives, those exceptional and total destinies unfolding for a few hours within a stage set? Off the stage, Sigismundo ceases to count. Two hours later he is seen dining out. Then it is, perhaps, that life is a dream... By thus sweeping over centuries and minds, by miming man as he can be and as he is, the actor has much in common with that other absurd individual, the traveller...

To what the degree the actor benefits from the characters is hard to say. But that is not the important thing. It is merely a matter of knowing how far he identifies himself with those irreplaceable lives. It often happens that he carries them with him, that they somewhat overflow the time and place in which they were born. They accompany the actor, who cannot very readily separate himself from what he has been... He abundantly illustrates every month or everyday that so suggestive truth that there is no frontier between what a man wants to be and what he is. Always concerned with better representing, he demonstrates to what a degree appearing creates being. For that is his art- to simulate absolutely, to project himself as deeply as possible into lives that are not his own. At the end of his effort his vocation becomes clear: to apply himself wholeheartedly to being nothing or to being several. The narrower the limits allotted him for creating his character the more necessary his talent. He will die in three hours under the mask he has assumed to-day. That is called losing oneself to find oneself.

'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' - Joseph Campbell

- Ego Tripping: (A vacation from yourself)
- Louis Theroux, Couchsurfing and Holland
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Adventure
- Trigger: Ego Tripping in Portugal - Sintra, Obidos, Ericeria, Coimbra
- Trigger: Ego Tripping II - England, on the road again

Update: I appeared on community radio discussing 'Myth of Sisyphus'

Sam Harris on Free will and preferences

'Free Will' by Sam Harris

Free Will  by Sam Harris
He played poker not by by accident or while in the grip of delusion but because he wanted to, intended to, and decided to, moment after moment. For most purposes, it makes sense to ignore the deep causes of desires and intentions - genes, synaptic potentials, etc. - and focus instead on the conventional outlines of the person. We do this when thinking about our choices and behaviours - because its the easiest way to organize our thoughts and actions. Why did I order beer instead of wine? Because I prefer beer.

Why do I prefer it? I don't know, but I generally have no need to ask. Knowing that I like beer more than wine is all I need to know to function in a restaurant. Whatever the reason, I prefer one taste to the other. Is there freedom in this? None whatsoever. Would I magically reclaim my freedom if I decided to spite my preference and order wine instead? No, because the roots of this intention would be as obscure as the preference itself.

- Watch Sam Harris' talk at Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2012: The Delusion of Free Will

Home Reading: 'Out-of-body Experience' (Astral Travel) and 'What a Coincidence!' (Synchronicity)

<< crossposted on the 'Loz in Translation' blog

I can't recall how my fascination with "consciousness" began. I've always been intrigued by reality, more specifically 'hyperreality'. It has its roots in my love for wrestling and exposure to it in movies. I was formally educated on it in my Design Studies classes in University which was around the time seminal movies like Fight Club and The Matrix were being released.

My year abroad definitely awakened and accessed parts of my consciousness. A powerful sense of Déjà vu struck me at a particular sight on the Main Square in Riga, Latvia so much so that I was compelled to text my Couchsurfing host of it. I read books on mastering memory when I was in Den Haag. I've had my reality shaken by scammers in Istanbul. I've referenced Dreams and Synchronicity in previous posts as well.

Below are two books I've read recently on these themes, I've highlighted passages which resonated with my recent line of thinking:

'What a Coincidence' by Susan M. Watkins 

Ch 5. Random Thoughts, Media Feedback
Thus the vocabulary of your interest determines the symbols used by your inner senses, exactly the way dreams operate. Within the safety of that framework, chosen and adapted by you, coincidence will often seem to cycle around bits and pieces that suggest themes you should be paying attention to...

Again, this is exactly what your dreams are up to, or rather what you are up to in your dreams, even when you don't remember them consciously. In that way, coincidences are the awake world extensions of the dream state...

Or maybe just learning to acknowledge coincidence is enough to maintain a link to the inner, natural workings of consciousness. Maybe coincidences are always there, muttering in the background, forming the internet of our days, a media hullabaloo of their own. And when you do notice them, even peripherally, your intuitions spring to attention and force you to ask questions about your reality: What's going on here? What is it I have access to? Something? Nothing? Everything? And once you've asked these questions, you can never quite go back to thinking of your position in the world as meaningless or mechanical.

My fascination with Astral Travel only recently came about through the compelling conversations I heard between Comedians Duncan Trussell and Pete Holmes. As someone who places a premium on living in the moment and being "present", I later realised it was odd that I'd be fascinated by leaving one's body and going to far off places.

The Out-of-Body Experience by Anthony Peake 

Ch 10. The Physics
Recent suggestions by Professor Stephen Hawking and an associate, Thomas Hertog of CERN, make this an even more fascinating proposition. They have presented a complex mathematical model proposing something that they term the 'observer created universe'. They argue that all these universes do not branch off and exist in isolation, but they exist simultaneously in a state of 'superposition' You will recall that this is the state a particle is in before it is 'observed'. It exists in a superposition of all possible locations where it may statistically be found when the probability wave collapses.

Let us step back and take account  of exactly what one of the world's leading physicists is suggesting - you are creating your own universe as you go along, and so is every other consciousness. And this goes for all the other people you interact with in a lifetime. We are all existing in our own personal computer game in which each decision brings about a different version of reality, but (and this is very important to grasp) the potential outcome of each decision exists whether or not you choose it.

Find other books in the Home Reading and Road Reading collection here
Read my previous post on Synchronicity here - Travel coincidences and Counting the serendipities