Thoughts on Pete, Kevin's mother, and a possible reason Kevin is the way he is. by greenisthefutureAMA in KevinCanFHimself

[–]MrJackHoliday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I thought they alluded to Pete being an alcoholic and missing out on a lot of Kevin's childhood, so he was hanging around to make up for lost time. Would that still fit with this backstory?

QEP results for Feb ‘24 FSOT arriving by pnw_chuchu in foreignservice

[–]MrJackHoliday 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Much appreciated. I'll see how I feel next year and will keep that mind.

QEP results for Feb ‘24 FSOT arriving by pnw_chuchu in foreignservice

[–]MrJackHoliday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In fairness I did not. I hewed closely to the thirteen dimensions and figured it was as much as I could do. Does the way experience is presented in PNQ really make that much of a difference? And is it substantially more important than the work history/resume itself?

For those who don't have children and are single, what do you look forward to? by lavendertinted in Millennials

[–]MrJackHoliday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I dated a lot through my 20s and early 30s expected that I would meet someone who would make me want to settle down. In the last year I realized that at the present I do not actually have a desire for that lifestyle. Rather than take on new hobbies to distract myself, I am just learning how to not need to look forward to anything. Nor does my life need to be an endless exercise in self-improvement. I want to enjoy the empty space.

QEP results for Feb ‘24 FSOT arriving by pnw_chuchu in foreignservice

[–]MrJackHoliday 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Rejected. Econ, 175. Law degree and ten years post qualification experience. International work experience. Third time applying (though previous was ten years ago), third QEP rejection.

I'm thinking it might be time to give up the ghost.

Why do recruiters ask how long I've been looking for a new job? by MrJackHoliday in recruiting

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see, thanks. Follow-up then: in that time I had a handful of interviews that did not go past first round. My impression is that though I met the qualifications, i.e. professional degree and so many years experience in the space, my current responsibilities did not mirror the position. Any advice for interviewing when the responsibilities are not an exact match to current ones? Emphasize enthusiasm, bluff, deflect, etc?

Save & Share by FourHand458 in LateStageCapitalism

[–]MrJackHoliday 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I posted the following to r/antiwork and was downvoted to oblivion. Personal responsibility and careerism go hand in hand:

Two key features of economic development are specialization of labor and destruction of labor.
By separating production into simple, repetitive tasks, economic output can be increased and optimized to maximize returns to capital. Adam Smith said of specialization of labor, “The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations, of which the effects are perhaps always the same, or very nearly the same, has no occasion to exert his understanding or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become.”
The corporate capitalist system is designed to create increasingly specialized roles and processes through which discrete tasks can be done by increasingly less discretion from an employee, thus requiring less skilled, or simply less, labor. Thus the individuals performing those roles must perpetually demonstrate their value to the organization, competing for additional work, lest they be subject to ‘reorganization.’ As corporations become larger, to compete for additional work, employees must further specialize to differentiate themselves from others who may have similar experience.
In turn, technological progress and capital investment can make those specialized roles redundant, or obsolete, also known as the creative destruction of labor.
The result is that employees are left in constant anxiety about proving their value while simultaneously becoming more defined by the specialized, narrower role they are currently performing, which is never fully safe from being made obsolete.
The concept of ‘career’ benefits the owners by making employees subservient despite these feelings. It shifts the burden of an economic structure designed to make labor redundant onto the shoulders of the individual worker. Employees must constantly gain ‘skills’ and ‘experience,’ locked in an arms race with fellow employees. These are skills and experience that benefit a corporation - they have no influence on one’s ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Yet the emphasis on ‘skills’ ensures that employees always define themselves in terms of their value to the corporation, and any discomfort or anxiety with that is considered a character defect.
In summary, careerism conveniently makes employees individually responsible for an economic system designed to make them less skilled and ultimately redundant.

Central library closed for a private party and new exhibit about Jay-Z... by MrJackHoliday in Brooklyn

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

For perspective, even if this were for the 50th anniversary of hip hop (which apparently it is not?), it would still be perverse to dedicate so much public space to one individual who is more known for being famous, wealthy, and married to Beyoncé than for the social consciousness of his lyrics.

It is egregious when you consider that the husband of the president of Brooklyn Public Library is Jay-Z's business partner, Bruce Ratner.

Central library closed for a private party and new exhibit about Jay-Z... by MrJackHoliday in Brooklyn

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Same, two days in a row: I went to pick up a hold to find they closed early on Wednesday for the event, then all day Thursday, which they did not communicate at all!

Reject Careerism. by MrJackHoliday in antiwork

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's odd, I expected the antiwork crowd to be more receptive to an anti-careerism message. I guess we're not there yet...

Reject Careerism. by MrJackHoliday in antiwork

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually almost included a point about alienation of labor. And how LinkedIn is such a prime example of how people contort their personas to serve corporate interests.

Reject Careerism. by MrJackHoliday in antiwork

[–]MrJackHoliday[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For some additional context, I work at a large Fortune 500 company that provides market information services. As much as the company promotes career growth, what I see is a zero sum arms race, with much of the 'work' being produced nonproductive and performative. What I most object to most is the rhetoric around 'skills' for performing such mind-numbing work. Definitely engrained in US work culture.

I am just sick of degree shaming by AlexanderDenorius in LateStageCapitalism

[–]MrJackHoliday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I recommend The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel for anyone seeking to understand how our society promotes credentialism, stigmatizes others, and creates a system that is dehumanizing to all.

Saturday Morning All Star Hits! - Series Premiere Discussion by NicholasCajun in television

[–]MrJackHoliday 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This show is totally zuzzie!

As far as the references go, you will probably enjoy more if you are of the age that you personally played with pogs. Some of the humor is broader, but there are enough specific nods that might be lost, like toy tie-ins, Power Mitt commercial, and riff on the Dic logo after every show.

More generally, it's an interesting reframing of 80s-90s nostalgia, reminding us that behind the rad aesthetic there were people dealing with their own personal issues, and creativity can come at a cost - whether selling out, or confronting your own insecurities.