Towelie and Kevin Smith: Talking pot and the reward of epiphany

Rolling Stone (May 2011) - Kevin Smith's Happy Ending

Kevin Smith's Happy Ending by Josh Eells
"It's kind of like The Matrix" he says, with the zeal of a convert. "That moment when Neo sees all the zeros and ones. Suddenly, you see everything clearly: The negativity goes away. The doubt goes away. You get a little burner Tony Robbins in your head, going 'Come on, Kev, you can do it!' I hate to sound like a stoner- but there's a reason, like, it grows everywhere." 

When he first started getting high, Smith vowed that he'd always tie it to something creative, so as not to become a TV-watching slug. "You gotta be writing," he told himself. "You gotta be recording, you gotta be tweeting."

I'm not much of a smoker. When I had the epiphany of seeing the 1s and 0s of reality after being enlightened by a National Geographic doco after a few puffs, I got a glimpse of the appeal. When I mentioned my revelation to regular smoker, he was pleased to know I had seen the light.

There's definitely a nexus between creativity and stimulants like pot, some people try to control their usage by linking it to reward systems or artistic inspiration but I don't know maaaaaaan...

South Park (Season 10, Episode 5): A Million Little Fibers

South Park Ep 1005: A Million Little Fibers
TOWELIE: All right, I'm gonna get a little high. [sets up to light the joint, but stops himself again] No! No I'm NOT gonna get high! Every time I get high, I come up with ideas that get me in more trouble. I'm not gettin' high this time!
...
Aw, that's okay. This whole thing was my fault. I learned that I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas and then get high, to reward myself. [whips out his joint and lighter]

Scams in Istanbul: Why I trust people (1 of 3)

<< crossposted on The '30 Home Games' and 'LozinTranslation' blog

"The best adventures are when you trust somebody"

- paraphrased quote entered into a running mate's phone

The third week into my Turkey experience and I was in snow-covered Göreme. It was a foggy day. I was eavesdropping on an exchange between a Tour operator and a representative for a busload of tourists. The owner of the nearby horseranch came out and we chatted about the unreasonable expectations people have. "If you come to Turkey in Winter be prepared for snow" he began. "It doesn't matter that it was sunny last week in Dubai. Today you're in Turkey". We connected, he invited me inside where it was warmer.

I hung around for about 5 hours. He commanded a staff of 6 or so of varying ages and experience. They came in and out and we talked about the usual - girls, dreams and life. One associate had been living in Japan for 2 years, it was his second day back in Turkey. He confided that he had a miserable time there but he loves his newborn son and his Japanese wife (they met when she was a tourist). He had a lot of thinking to do. We drank Raki and Efes beer, had kebab eats and smoked.

I mentioned my time in Turkey has been more scenic than social. These are the types of interactions I value and what I've enjoyed most about how I travel. Having had difficulty finding it in Turkey, I cherished this experience all the more.

Its ultimately what connects me to a place - being accepted or feeling like I belong in some way. The ranchowner described the feeling like a mirror, "we tend to like things when we can see ourselves in it" . The ranchowner commended me on my openness, the feeling was mutual. I explained that all my best experiences and adventures have come with an exchange of trust. Strangers off the street, Couchsurfers have welcomed me into their lives and homes. As a stranger I've been welcomed into classrooms and house parties and been handed house keys from people I've just met.

Times I've trusted in others and vice versa:
- CouchSurfing: I've accompanied Latvians as they've delivered flowers to beloved former teachers and been escorted to a wrestling show by scooter in Germany.
- Strangers met on Lithuanian streets have invited me to parasail and pick mushrooms
- Gone on road trips and slept in unfurnished apartments with new friends
- I was an honorary Student at the SpoHo in Köln. I ate at the Mensa, went on their socials and participated in classes
- Had amazing meals in Portugal through the kindness of strangers
- I surrender myself each time I Ego Trip

We tried to figure out why two strangers could be so trusting so quickly. The Ranchowner offered "When your soul is naked, people can recognise". Its just my nature, I have faith in people and my 'Spidey Sense' has served me well.

Enter Istanbul...
- Scams in Istanbul: Why I trust people (1 of 3)
- Scams in Istanbul: Why people trust others (2 of 3)
- Scams in Istanbul: The reality of trusting (3 of 3)

Comedian Russell Brand, Futurist Jason Silva: The Power of Ideas

(Drug Dealer imparting philosophy to a young Russell Brand) "See all these buildings, Russell? All these buildings were once a drawing on a piece of paper, and before that they were an idea in someone’s head. Any idea that you have, you can make manifest."
― Russell Brand, My Booky Wook

Man has the incredible ability to shape the world it lives in. All our art, objects and buildings originally began as an idea. Our imagination creates reality. What happens when we become so advanced that we no longer have a buffer time between our ideas and reality? Imagine that.

VIDEO: Jason Silva - 'Imagination'

JASON SILVA: The Imaginary Foundation which I adore and I quote them all the time, they say that the whole goal of human imagination is to conjure up all these delightful future possibilities. These delightful futures scenarios, pick the most amazing and ecstatic one and guess what, pull the present to meet that exciting possibility...

Onnit Blog: Self Improvement in Video Games VS the "Real World"

Still from 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' (2010)

Onnit have compiled a list of reasons why people choose to dedicate their time "Leveling up" their Video Game avatars rather than their real selves:

Level up your Life
The appeal derives partly from the fact that these RPG (Role Playing Games) cut to the core of a basic human desire; To improve, and to conquer. But why is it so much more appealing to improve a virtual character, than to improve your real-life self? Countless teens and adults sit in their bedrooms or basements and work on their avatar so they can crush monsters and get new weapons. They could be hitting the gym so they could crush their rivals and get more dates! Somehow there is resistance in life that isn’t found in games. Besides just simply being entertaining and fun, here are a few reasons why games are more appealing: 

1. Games have concrete goals and a measuring stick. I have always said that the genius of traditional martial arts is the belt system. You always know where you stand and what it will take to reach the next goal. And much like a video game, once you achieve a certain level, no one can take that from you. For a casual kickboxer or MMA enthusiast, unless you are actively sparring, you really have no idea where you are at, or what your next goal is. You just do it with the faith that you will be better than you were before you started.

Let's Get Real - Episode 3 preview: Love and discontent

Here is the first of a set of excerpts from my 3rd podcast conversation. It was an interesting chat with a charming lass on the topic of love and discontent. The sound quality is an improvement on previous recordings as it was done in an enclosed space. You'll have to forgive the coughs though :)

For those wondering about the comedian I mentioned who went through the Rumspringa, its Kurt Braunohler. He has recounted the story on several podcasts including Marc Maron and Pete Holmes' programs and 'This American Life'.

VIDEO: CNN - A comic's sexual rumspringa

Comedian Duncan Trussell and Community creator Dan Harmon on Hedonism and sex online

The Matrix. Hedonism open on all windows

Imagine you had an impulse to get a massage but didn't know where you could get them. You also don't have a smartphone so you call a good friend asking them to google directions. If only they could also upload life skills as well. *Downloading Stamina...*.

When you're playing VideoGames or watching movies, how much of that experience is living in that moment and how much of it is wishing you were doing it "for real". Is it escapism or replacement?

Duncan Trussell Family Hour - Episode 33: Dan Harmon
DAN HARMON: My belief is that if you gather 100 prostitutes and you polygraphed them so there was no lying and you could just read their thoughts and feelings, you would find that let's say 85 of the 100 would rather be doctors or airline pilots or carpenters. 85 out of 100 of them had fallen on hard times and were resorting to something they didn't want to do...
DUNCAN TRUSSELL: I think that's a pretty accurate hypothesis and I think if you brought in 100 guys who pay money to f*ck prostitutes, there's probably gonna be 85 of them who would rather have someone [that they're in love with]
I think there is an undocumented psychic plague that is afflicting humanity right now and that is internet porn...

Kumail Nanjiani and Pete Holmes talk about affecting the world today

You Made it Weird #93: Kumail Nanjiani returns
PETE HOLMES: (1h 32m) We are stuck in these personas that are nice people. Sometimes I worry that... my ID is at the helm going "Get rich and famous"... and then you can do whatever you want or use alcohol - a cheap rich and fame - and say I was drunk... its just like a write-off
KUMAIL NANJIANI: Its an irresponisibilty
HOLMES: How are you giving yourself green lights to act the way you really secretly wanna?
NANJIANI: I think for me that anger or meanness, its power or a way to affect the world. You can affect the world in many ways. You can play the slow game which is what we're doing, working hard, doing bits. Working on TV shows, affecting the world slowly and through a lot of hard work in a positive way. You can also affect the world in a negative way today. You couldn't affect the world positively today by something you decided to do today. It would be hard. Something negative, just yell at a guy on the street. Punch a guy walking down the street
HOLMES: Shoot at a guy at the ATM
NANJIANI: That's power!
HOLMES: That's the appeal of the dark side, immediate results
NANJIANI: We've talked about this before, that's why Videogames are good. They give you power in a world where there are no real consequences

As a supplement, The Indoor Kids #93: Why we play, with Pete Holmes

Life is a sandbox and we create our reality based on the actions we take. VideoGames are getting closer to creating exciting sandboxes for us to play in.

VIDEO: Dishonored Video Review - IGN Reviews