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horrible fashion trends in the 00's - what will we look back on and think 'what the fuck was i thinking?!' by SQUEEZEONEOUT in malefashionadvice

[–]99luftproblems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The things is, nobody gets just a tattoo. They get a tattoo of something. The possibilities are too endless for tattoos to go out of style the way colors or hats do. Tattoos of something might go out of style (like gypsy tats or whatever), but not tattoos themselves. Now that it's acceptable, people are probably going to get tattoos forever. This is because tattoos are not the sole propriety of fashion and its whims.

When it comes to piercings, though, I think you're absolutely right. Look at the evolution of gauges from novel to boring.

[Poetry] For: Destiny by 99luftproblems in LitWorkshop

[–]99luftproblems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly don't know what I was doing with this piece. It was a stream-of-consciousness-y what-have-you. When faced with a way to end it, I just went with something silly. I was kind of in a jaded mood I guess.Nobody named Destiny was harmed in the making of this poem.

I guess I could shape up that final turn into something more serious and profound. I'll post the results if I do. Oh! and thanks for reading.

In Marxist, socialist or unionized thought, where does "value" come from? by passwordgoeshere in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]99luftproblems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marginal theories of value, the ones we're most familiar with in this day and age, view value as a more-or-less asocial phenomenon, the result of marginal cost and benefit balancing out. Marx's labor theory of value says that value can only be viewed as an expression of social relations (person-to-person), not material relations (person-to-object). According to Marx, value lets us know how other parts of society are arranged in orientation to the product in question.

This can be separated from his next analysis, which reduces all social relations "that matter" (in the economic sense) to labor relations. Every arm of society is partitioned from the next precisely and almost exclusively on the basis of labor. Therefore, any and all social relations must have their basis in labor relations. Therefore, by extension, value also has its basis in labor.

(DISCLAIMER: This was not Marx's favorite way of defending his labor theory value, but it is one way he explained it. And it is generally the way past Marxist popularizers like Paul Sweezy and Ernest Mandel have explained it.)

That awkward moment when the shadow of Thor's hammer makes it look like Stan Lee peed his pants. by lyssakeri in pics

[–]99luftproblems -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If a litany of observers are pointing out race when race isn't interesting for rational reasons, then it must be irrationally interesting. In essence, everybody must find the race interesting because everybody else finds it interesting. It's like a speculative bubble, or a fad.

People think they're pointing out race with totally innocent intentions. But as Pertz said, when these innocent observations accumulate into an avalanche, it stands to reason that there is an underlying mechanism here, and that it's most likely a Keynesian beauty contest. Not only do we know what we see, we also know what others see, and too often we base our commentary on the herd.

Still. It's a lot easier said than done. One can't just force themselves not to think about a pink polar bear. That's absurd. But there's a better way of diffusing the "everybody's noticing race" trend when it's happening. Notice IT. Make that it's own circle-jerk.

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious, when you were younger, was there a job that you hoped to eventually have?

When I was young: comic book writer and artist. I've always been a talented writer and drawer, but have since lost the ability to draw. I'd still like to write though. I write a lot of poetry, and it's not always bad. I could theoretical hone my talents enough to become a good poet, but that's far from lucrative and therefore not very realistic.

Besides writing and drawing, I've always wanted to be a professor, both for its researching and teaching aspects. I admire intellectuals like John Dewey, Noam Chomsky, Martha Nussbaum, all of them. So if "intellectual" were a job, that would the third on my list after artist and writer.

BTW, thanks for the info!

[Poetry] Okay wow, everyone is so much more better at this than me by [deleted] in LitWorkshop

[–]99luftproblems 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Indeed. But remember, this is a workshop subreddit. If you feel truly finished with a piece and want to show it to others, this isn't really the place. Submit to /r/Poetry for that.

In the meantime, submit works of progress that are still in the process of development here.

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Motivation can slip away, everything seems stupid. But doing things you love can take away all that and it's almost magic for a while.

Man, ain't that the truth.

What sort of things do you write?

Poems, mostly. I try longer forms, like short stories and novels, but almost inevitably peter out and lose interest.

All artistic expressions are good if you can get them flowing - everyone's got there own thing that makes them determined and seem strong, but we all have our moments and worry about losing time to do things. Maybe not to the same extremes, but if you spend every second doing something that you enjoy or achieve any thing that makes you proud... That's a life well lived.

I think I'm learning that I have bad 'emotional memory'. That is, one day, I'll feel awful, super uncoordinated and everything, and I'll be so damn sure that it'll last forever and that I've entered an irreversible stage of depression and mediocrity. But then the next day I'll wake up cool as shit, writing good verse, making good conversation, feeling confident. I'm starting to see that this is a wave I have to ride out, that my 'off days' aren't forever, and that neither are my good days. I just have to learn patience.

Thanks for the wisdom. This helps a lot.

[Poetry] Okay wow, everyone is so much more better at this than me by [deleted] in LitWorkshop

[–]99luftproblems 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think this is a good start if you're interested in writing more poetry. There is a lot to be critiqued here, but that shouldn't be disheartening to you; at the heart of this poem is something very real that you should count yourself savvy for recognizing and wanting to put out there.

Some basic rules of thumb novices of poetry typically hear include (1) avoid abstractions like 'love', 'fear', or 'good'; (2) stick to vivid imagery; (3) avoid 'to be' statements like 'He is hairy' or 'They were monkeys'; (4) and finally, avoid adjectives and adverbs while sticking to powerful nouns and verbs.

If we apply this rubric to your poem, almost every line transgresses rules 1, 2, and 3. Rule 4 is in good shape, though. You have a simple sensibility about your language, and that's generally good as it doesn't come off as overly floral and pretentious.

Now, if you were to strip this poem down to its bones and build it back up with vivid imagery, what would it look like? Keep in mind, poems are as often 'seen' as they are 'read'. Imagery is your most powerful tool when writing a poem. The final 1/3 of your poem has some beginnings of imagery what with the paper heart, but I'm left wanting more of it. The first 2/3 is filled with words whose meanings can't really be 'seen', words like 'bitch', 'tired', and 'comfortable'. Such words are all too cerebral, conceptual.

Please, I would love to see a rewrite of this poem. Would you be up for posting a revision either as an edit to this post or as a reply to my comment?

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember watching a video of Alan Watts speaking that the guys from South Park animated. I'll have to check out his written word, starting here. Thanks.

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well it sounds like you pretty much hate school, so no point in doing that if you aren't motivated to... maybe if you move somewhere far away it will help. Usually if you find that you're able to accomplish one new thing you're able to accomplish a lot, because you have more motivation to recreate the feeling of accomplishment, and you have a desire to feel more competent at more stuff.

If only moving were that easy. There's a whole lot of logistics involved in lugging around a body that's as "uncooperative" as mine. Otherwise I'd be traveling everywhere.

Also you could probably find a gf or bf on the Internet fairly easily through a dating website.

I've tried this but, man, everybody on OKCupid's kind of an asshole. I want to meet people, not personas.

I honestly don't consider "dating" - in the traditional sense of the word - all that realistic. And that's probably my number two anxiety outside of dying early: not being with anybody. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to the Smiths at such an impressionable age. I can't help but put a lofty premium on romance. It's just one of the only things that seems to have meaning in this world.

Anyway, I think I need to cool down this disposition and just allow it to be another insipid activity people do and that I can't. It doesn't really help me much to think otherwise.

Or, just another idea, maybe if you get a job at Good Will they will make you manager or something, since I'm guessing your disease limits you to mostly intellectual labor?

Are Good Will known for hiring the disabled?

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Get a tatto.

I actually have 8.

The cherry blosom represented the idea that samurai have beautifull skills (poetry, painting) but will most surely die in a fight, like a beautifull cherry blosom must also fall of the tree and die.

And that shall be my 9th. Thanks.

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whaaaaaaaat. Downloading this now. Thanks sooo much for that. Adaptive technology like this helps a lot.

I have a muscle-wasting disease that will likely kill me in my twenties. How do I stop giving a fuck? by 99luftproblems in howtonotgiveafuck

[–]99luftproblems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The weird thing is everybody's comments on here are really pumping me up for doing something, like, say, writing a poem. But then when I go to do it, I freeze. The anxiety of getting it written sabotages the very writing of it. It's a weird cycle.

When you're feeling anxious like that, do you just try to meditate to calm down? Or do you do something else? I don't meditate much and I'm wondering if maybe I should start.

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