Time, Energy, and Balance
On being a fan.
There are fans who spend considerable amounts of money to turn their basements into shrines to sports teams, Star Trek, and speakeasies.
There are fair-weather fans who only like something if it’s popular or successful. There are anti-fans who, at one time in their life, loved something but now follow it solely to criticize and claim it's worse than when they initially loved it.
There are fans who head to a bar and drink when their team wins and those who drink when their team loses.
Lately, I’m finding it incredibly difficult to be just a simple fan.
Being a fan takes time and energy. For example, I’m a fan of a particular author, but I’m three books behind, and I fear I won’t ever catch up. I don’t have either the time or energy to devote to being a fan of this author, but I still want to read his books. It’s the same for TV shows, movies, and even music.
I have started to listen to the new Twenty One Pilots album, but I still haven’t finished it. I have a queue of podcasts that I really want to dive into, but my time to listen to an hour-long podcast is severely limited. It all comes back to time and energy.
Do I simply let go of my fandom? Do I keep collecting entertainment for that distant future when I can sit and enjoy it? Can you bank time and energy? I don’t think so.
I’m a fan of Star Wars, but I wanted so much more from the sequels, and I’m worried about the future of the movies. Should I focus on the aspects of Star Wars I enjoy and ignore the rest? Given the vastness of the Star Wars universe, it’s impossible for me to enjoy or like everything. So, I’ve concentrated on squeezing all the fun I can out of the Disney+ shows. The novels, comics, cartoons… I can let those go.
I’m a fan of KISS, but the band is significantly different now than when I acquired my first KISS album. Do I only listen to what I like and ignore the rest? I could do that, but I feel it would limit my enjoyment of the band and dismiss the achievements of the current line-up. I still want new KISS music, but I doubt I’ll ever hear any.
I’m a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, but they haven’t won a pennant or been to the World Series in years. Do I simply relive the glory days and not care how the team fixes or positions itself for the future? For me, the only way I can maintain my Cardinals fandom is by not caring about the Cardinals until the playoffs. Because I know following such a long 162-game season would be bad for my heart, as I live and die with every pitch, play in the field, and swing of the bat. If they don’t make the playoffs, do I even care at all?
That’s the thing, though, isn’t it? As a fan, you invest your time and energy in something, hoping to be entertained and experience the adventure and excitement. However, it doesn’t always turn out for the best. Sometimes the lows keep me from enjoying the highs. There is no balance.
I guess the real question is, can you find balance in being a fan? I get accused all the time of being an all-or-nothing kind of guy. This feels like a true extension of that mentality.
Maybe being a fan is a kind of mental exercise. Personally, I must disassociate myself from the entertainment. I can’t get too invested because if something bad happens, I will become depressed for days, and if something good happens, it’s never enough.
Reflecting on that investment strategy in relation to my fandom, I realize that finding balance in my personal life should also be a goal. Not just with being a fan, but with everything. Work, family, being a good husband, parenting, eating, sleeping… keeping all these things, and so much more, in balance.
So, being a fan is finding the right balance in my life. However, finding the right balance is really the key to everything.
All these ideas lead me to a new direction for the rest of the year — find balance. That’s a good goal and one that sounds completely within reach, but it is much harder than it looks. One of my personal weaknesses is a tendency to both under- and overthink. Again, finding the right balance in how I approach things would make for a better life. That means bringing balance to how I manage my time and energy.
I’m also making a conscious effort not to let my fandoms interfere with my life.
But that takes time and energy. And balance.
Be seeing you.
The Epstein Letter Is Real, and It’s Bad
I had no doubt the Wall Street Journal had seen this letter, regardless of Donald Trump's claims about its validity. Of course, it was going to come out, and of course, it reads and looks horrible. Yes, that’s his signature. The book itself presents a vivid portrait of Epstein’s lewd and lecherous behavior with young women, and that this wasn’t a secret, but known and celebrated by his closest friends. “The most disgusting thing is that no sexual deviant could be president without powerful elites who found ways to ignore, rationalize or accept his sexual deviance, thus making the crime of statutory rape seem like a silly pastime rich white men do for fun.” None of this is vague or suspect. “I mean, what in presidential history even approximates a scandal this disgusting? What in the history of the United States of America, for anybody in any position of public trust, approximates the level of repulsiveness that Donald Trump brings to the presidency?” Trump and Epstein’s friendship is well-documented. Their victims, as young as 13, are also well documented. Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile. Donald Trump is a pedophile. What more do you need to know?
The Tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s Killing
Honestly, I’m conflicted about Charlie Kirk’s death. I would never celebrate anyone dying of gun violence. However, I feel apathetic toward the death of someone who was a bigot, a misogynist, and a racist who regularly excused the very same sort of gun violence that ended his life. They never seem to think the leopard would eat their face. Here’s an idea: maybe guns shouldn’t be so easy to get. RELATED: Quite frankly, this act of gun violence is far more worthy of our attention.
On Charlie Kirk and Saving Civil Society
The shooter of Charlie Kirk came from a Second Amendment, Blue Lives Matter, MAGA, Mormon family. He was a groyper and was terminally online. Basically, Charlie Kirk was shot by the acolyte of a more hateful version of Charlie Kirk. Cal Newport has at least part of the solution to stopping gun violence. “After troubling national events, there’s often a public conversation about the appropriate way to respond. Here’s one option to consider: Quit using these social platforms. Find other ways to keep up with the news, or spread ideas, or be entertained. Be a responsible grown-up who does useful things; someone who serves real people in the real world.”
Larry Gies Makes Transformational $100 Million Gift to Illinois Athletics
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the big time. I believe this $100 million gift by Larry Gies is FIVE TIMES the previous highest ever single donation to Illinois Athletics. Here’s the press conference. Pretty cool video to accompany the announcement, too.
Their Schools Banned Phones. Out Came the iPods and Cassette Players.
Brilliant. I love this idea. The kids just want their music. If you simply limit the banned products to ones that can connect to the internet, I think this is a great workaround and a pretty good compromise.
The Tragedy That Has Befallen Baseball
I do not gamble. Gambling ads have zero effect on me. I do think the integrity of baseball has been corrupted by the money that gambling companies and their apps have created. However, I also don’t really care. I don’t really love it, but if you can gamble responsibly, then go for it. I’ll keep my cash, thank you.
Rick Davies, Lead Singer of Supertramp, Dies at 81
I never really thought of myself as a fan of Supertramp. I knew a couple of songs, but that was it. I never owned Breakfast in America. I dug into Spotify and quickly realized I knew a lot more songs, and these tracks were really, really good. I made a playlist in case you don’t believe me.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Official Teaser | Netflix
Just like the previous two movies, this one looks marvelous. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc has been pretty iconic. He played another character too, but I just can’t remember his name…
How Hollywood Decides to Green light a Show
TV Shows have a long production gestation, which goes through stages like pitching, writing, rewriting (lots of rewriting), development, and production. ScerenCrush guides you through every step of this process to understand how they actually make TV Shows. This is a great breakdown.
The Lasting Lesson of the September 11 Victims
The anniversary of 9/11 was a few days ago. Will Leitch writes eloquently with a somber tone about what he thinks is the most important point to remember about the people who died that day.
You're being rude. Put away your phone.
“We need to have friends over for dinner every Friday or Sunday, and sometimes we need to serve something sort of boring and not-very-Alison Roman-like to those friends. We need to do karaoke and forbid anyone from filming it. We need fancy parties where kids are invited. We need more restaurants with dress codes for gentlemen. We need cookouts for no reason at all. We need to watch sports in sports bars or at our buddy’s house — not alone, not on our phones, but together! We need to join book clubs, movie clubs, sports leagues, the community theater. We have to go to in-person events for the sole reason that they are happening near us. We should go to the pancake breakfast, the opera, the church service, and the local high school musical. Go to the movies, too.” I’m down 100% with this essay.
Of Course Superman is Woke
I generally roll my eyes when I read any instance of “woke.” However, this essay clearly explains his central thesis, but it’s more political than I initially thought. I know, right?
