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Post by Whitman on Jan 8, 2020 13:49:34 GMT
It’s linked on the dedicated Pearlman thread, but I’m posting it here. jeffpearlman.com/i-need-to-fix-me/There’s more, but here’s the bulk of it: I need to fix me.
That sounds sappy. Love Guru sorta thing. But, truly, I need to fix me.
I bring this up after a long talk with the wife this evening, about social media and the need to engage and engage and engage. Today, in particular, was sorta ugly, in that I felt compelled to engage on something dumb Tweeted by a former Major Leaguer named Aubrey Huff.
Why enter a fray? Honestly, I don’t know. A desire to be heard? Perhaps. Boredom during long writing days? Certainly possible. An inane craving for attention? Gotta be a part of it.
Whatever the case, I’m sick of me and social media. Truly, truly, truly, truly sick of me and social media. It’s an addiction, of sorts. Not crack or cigarettes, but something equally distracting and hard to shake. Back in the olden days, when I needed a break from writing, I’d take a walk, read a book, pet the dog, go to the couch and watch TV. Now, I stay in one place and Tweet, or update Facebook. It’s preposterous, and stupid, and would probably be far more embarrassing were it not such a widespread problem.
My wife often says to me, “You’re a nice guy—why do you want to come off that way?” And it’s a question without an easy-to-offer answer. Why? Wish I knew. Truly, wish I knew. But something inside of me feels broken, and I need to fix it. Maybe that’s therapy. Maybe it’s a stricter adherence to discipline. Maybe it’s simply thinking whether I want to be attached to something this juvenile and pathetic—merely in the name of re-Tweets and viral high fives.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2020 13:52:03 GMT
All the rolly eyes. Every single one of them.
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Post by Wolfenstein on Jan 8, 2020 14:00:27 GMT
He's starting with the Man in the Mirror.
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Post by Whitman on Jan 8, 2020 14:02:57 GMT
All the rolly eyes. Every single one of them. On the surface, both charter members of the Vortex of Insecurity are kind of onto something: They both want to stop being huge gigantic penises. But in both cases, there is no indication that they are willing to abide or thoughtfully engage any opinion that veers an inch from their rigid worldviews. It’s fine that they want to blow kisses from here on out. But that’s easy, and kind of a cop-out. I’d rather they commit to being more open to taking other people seriously. Not idiots like Aubrey Huff. But ... people. There are people who didn’t vote for Barack Obama in this world with a worthwhile thought or two. But that would be hard.
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Post by lcjjdnh on Jan 8, 2020 14:06:13 GMT
By the way: who had the under?
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Post by doctorquant on Jan 8, 2020 14:06:52 GMT
All the rolly eyes. Every single one of them. On the surface, both charter members of the Vortex of Insecurity are kind of onto something: They both want to stop being huge gigantic penises. A good start might be to aspire to being a small gigantic penis.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2020 14:07:14 GMT
All the rolly eyes. Every single one of them. On the surface, both charter members of the Vortex of Insecurity are kind of onto something: They both want to stop being huge gigantic penises. But in both cases, there is no indication that they are willing to abide or thoughtfully engage any opinion that veers an inch from their rigid worldviews. It’s fine that they want to blow kisses from here on out. But that’s easy, and kind of a cop-out. I’d rather they commit to being more open to taking other people seriously. Not idiots like Aubrey Huff. But ... people. There are people who didn’t vote for Barack Obama in this world with a worthwhile thought or two. But that would be hard. I suppose I should give him credit for the self-awareness. But I’m skeptical that it’s genuine.
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Post by Whitman on Jan 8, 2020 14:07:52 GMT
By the way: who had the under? Wasn’t the O/U 12 hours?
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Post by Whitman on Jan 8, 2020 14:10:22 GMT
On the surface, both charter members of the Vortex of Insecurity are kind of onto something: They both want to stop being huge gigantic penises. But in both cases, there is no indication that they are willing to abide or thoughtfully engage any opinion that veers an inch from their rigid worldviews. It’s fine that they want to blow kisses from here on out. But that’s easy, and kind of a cop-out. I’d rather they commit to being more open to taking other people seriously. Not idiots like Aubrey Huff. But ... people. There are people who didn’t vote for Barack Obama in this world with a worthwhile thought or two. But that would be hard. I suppose I should give him credit for the self-awareness. But I’m skeptical that it’s genuine. It’s KIND OF genuine. But it’s a Band Aid. It’s treating a symptom. The disease is being rigid and intolerant and hubristic and incurious.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2020 14:15:24 GMT
I suppose I should give him credit for the self-awareness. But I’m skeptical that it’s genuine. It’s KIND OF genuine. But it’s a Band Aid. It’s treating a symptom. The disease is being rigid and intolerant and hubristic and incurious. It strikes me as part of the overall attention-seeking performance. Look, I am evolving! See, I am a BETTER PERSON!
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Post by TyWebb on Jan 8, 2020 14:17:11 GMT
By the way: who had the under? Wasn’t the O/U 12 hours? 'Twas. Looks like I'm bringing my lunch to work the rest of the week.
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Post by Whitman on Jan 8, 2020 14:18:16 GMT
It’s KIND OF genuine. But it’s a Band Aid. It’s treating a symptom. The disease is being rigid and intolerant and hubristic and incurious. It strikes me as part of the overall attention-seeking performance. Look, I am evolving! See, I am a BETTER PERSON! I think Pearlman’s is more genuine than the other one, which has already devolved into a smoke screen to tweet at famous directors.
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Post by gordonbombay on Jan 8, 2020 14:18:53 GMT
He’s right. I think when he snarks some podunk copy editor its more symptomatic of the need to be a dick online than fighting Aubrey Huff.
Writing a post online about how you need to not post online seems counter intuitive though
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Post by mizzougrad96 on Jan 8, 2020 14:24:18 GMT
Love his books, love his podcast...
My dealings with Jeff have been all positive, but his social media is filled with the same narcissism that you expect from people 20-25 years younger than him. There is not a person on this planet who should feel the need to share every thought, every political view and feel the need to do it several times a day and get into arguments with anyone who disagrees with him.
Life is too short to live like that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2020 14:36:18 GMT
Has getting right with the online world replaced going to the gym as the hottest New Year’s resolution?
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