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January 22, 2017

The Baffler: J.G. Ballard's brilliant


In J.G. Ballard's brilliant story Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan, he mimics the language of a psychological case study to sink into the sexual undertones of mass-media politics: "Faces were seen as either circumcised (JFK, Khrushchev) or uncircumcised (LBJ, Adenauer).

In assembly-kit tests Reagan's face was uniformly perceived as a penile erection." It's hard to place Trump anywhere on this scale. We're used to thinking of the man as an unrestrained male id, a vulgar explosion of infantile sexuality and adult braggadocio, a big, bleating, phallic presence--but he's nothing of the sort. Watch him moan, see how he constantly kvetches, see that horrendous wet flap of a mouth pronounce its indignity. A queasy, quivering pile of folded flesh; walking gynaecomastia, hermaphrodite rage.

January 21, 2017

Minimalism as a functional lifestyle

Don't give meaning to possessions. Most important, I understand that my possessions can be replaced. Someone recently asked me what I would grab if my apartment caught fire. I responded, "Nothing. Everything I own is replaceable."

Minimalism is not a radical lifestyle. Minimalism is a tool I use to get rid of unnecessary stuff and live a meaningful life--a life filled with happiness, freedom, and conscious awareness. Because I strip away life's excess, I'm able to focus on the important parts of life: health, relationships, passions, growth, and contribution. That's what living a meaningful life is about for me.

-- Joshua Fields Millburn .