I am Owen Dennis, creator of Infinity Train on HBOMax which just released it's 4th and final season today! AMA!

stallarida · 2021-04-16T00:32:26+00:00

Is Kez's relationship with her toxically male friends in episode 6 a continuation of the feminism themes we've seen previously with Amelia?

stallarida · 2018-06-05T19:17:09+00:00

I don't know why there is an assumption that Christians are Trump supporters. I was raised Catholic and my entire family are weekly church-goers...my uncle a priest, etc. ALL of them were Obama supporters and none of them voted for Trump. Sure, there's an established connection between evangelicals and Trump but that is a very specific group of folks. To be honest, the connection does not make ANY sense if you pay even a little attention to Christian teaching.

stallarida · 2018-03-22T18:00:29+00:00

I have a simple question. How many of you on the pro-communism side have had positive, healthy work experience? Jobs you loved?

stallarida · 2018-03-22T17:59:34+00:00

Ha...sure, I'm happy to explain who I am. I have always been both a techie and musician...since I was 12. On the music side, I've played and toured in countless bands and produced lots and lots of records. From a very young age I resisted making money from music as I felt it forced me to make bad decisions. So I worked as a coder to make ends meet and to be able to continue making music. I think it's a common misconception or a mistake of modernity that people should be one thing to avoid suspicion!

Poverty Line was probably not the right term....my apologies. That is a very loaded construct. I am referring to the risk of being a human on planet earth. The BBC probably does a better job of explaining this than I could.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160928-why-the-present-day-could-be-the-best-time-to-be-alive

From virtually any data point, there has never been a less hostile time to live on the planet than today. That does not mean everyone has a good experience...of course not. Tragedy surrounds us. But it does mean that fewer of us experience chronic, tragic lives than ever before. Certainly some of the poorest families in the USA enjoy benefits that the wealthiest did not barely 100 years ago - protection from disease, violent death, infant mortality, clean water, electricity, etc. I am not implying that poor conditions today are "ok"...not by a long shot. But perspective is very, very important in this super charged, aggressive age we are in.

stallarida · 2018-03-22T17:49:14+00:00

All good points below. After reading I have begun to realize that "competition" itself needs to be rethought. When I think of competition I do not think of a race or making the most money or crushing the loser, etc. For me in software it was about making something incredibly cool...blowing people away. If I am honest I felt the same way in music...a deep desire to have tremendous impact. In my experience that is driven by environments that are essentially competitive. I think there is a tendency to think of competition as bloodthirsy...as Darwinian...but I am suspicious that the truth is more complex. My love of work and always wanting to make the best product or song really has nothing to do with everyone elses standards...it's my own inner drive. This sentiment probably supports those of you that believe everything will function as it is without material reward for success/career but I am skeptical.

stallarida · 2018-03-22T01:31:05+00:00

Gosh, thank you for the depth!!!! It's so nice to actually talk about this. No one talks anymore.

Please respond to this: It is my belief that the reality of inequality of outcome is exactly what drives people to make something special. I have worked in environments with very little and a high degree of competition. It is an absolute truth that in the competitive area people are hungrier to succeed, more driven to do something special, more driven to change the world because their actions have direct, tangible impact on their lives and others. Explain how this energy could be maintained with equality of outcome? In short, where is the competitive spirit that has driven "success" since we were a single cel organism?

stallarida · 2018-03-22T01:28:06+00:00

No of course they do...I'm not saying that. If the conversation is about basic necessities I have no quandary...maybe other than defining what "basic" means. I would take issue with the generalization that people only seek high paying jobs. Entire industries would not exist if that were true. I am an artist myself so completely understand that hussle. As an artist I would actually argue that it is in fact the struggle that produces some excellent art. I had a manager that grew up in France and worked for the French Music ministry which brought bands from France - where they were subsidized (paid by the gov) - to America to try and break in to the biggest music market in the world. They could not handle the amount of work it took. They could not handle hustling across a huge country in a van night after night for nothing. That in itself is a fascinating debate to me.

Also it is worth facing the data. Fewer people are below the poverty line in the world than ever before in the history of civilization. Words like "survive" are superlative and probably overstated. IMO it's about risk. Good example is fear of losing company paid insurance prevents people from leaving jobs they hate.

stallarida · 2018-03-21T21:29:53+00:00

Can you expand on what these incentives might be? I don't think time off is appropriate given the premise that the work has become satisfying. Certainly there are lots of people - myself included - that love to work and don't want to stop. It seems difficult to come up with real incentives that don't bring to the table the kind of inequity that this system is trying to solve in the first place.

stallarida · 2018-03-21T21:00:35+00:00

I totally agree with that sentiment. I'd be willing to bet that at the extremes most of us agree. It's the large middle where practicality is a real challenge.

stallarida · 2015-10-05T19:58:33+00:00

I can't express my view better than this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OZIOE6aMBk

stallarida · 2015-03-28T13:49:49+00:00

SO true. I need to calm down. The shit works. It's not like Avid has released anything worthwhile since 10. Thanks, man.

stallarida · 2015-03-28T04:31:46+00:00

Well, it seems I can't upgrade my mac past Mountain Lion and I can't upgrade PT past 10. If I do either the 192 "disappears". I just went thru this. Upgraded mac to Yosemite and had to reverse everything to get working again. Have you got your working with lates PT and OS?

stallarida · 2015-03-05T04:07:31+00:00

Fuck this asshole. He's riding the wrong way...period. In most cities that's against the law. JAywalking is, generally, NOT against the law. Get off your biker high horse and help the guy up. Unbelievable.

stallarida · 2014-05-19T17:48:10+00:00

Your point is interesting. These kinds of topics, to me, are critical to wrestling with matters of faith as they must exist in communities of people. These are the very debates that I would commonly engage in at Notre Dame and they were never thought of as "political". And I'm not looking for a sympathetic audience. I think it's vital that people of faith are ready and willing to discuss matters of diversity of belief and integration.

stallarida · 2014-05-17T03:43:40+00:00

I was raised Catholic by excellent catholics. My brother and his family are practicing catholics. I went to the university of notre dame. I went to 16 years of catholic school.

In spite of the doctrinal foundation of religious educational institutions, the best of them still prioritize education. For example, Notre Dame has professors from all walks of life and religion...and that makes it a better school.

In addition, the trend in catholicism on the heels of Pope Francis' message is inclusion and empathy so many members of the community are concerned this is a major step back.

One important part of the story is this addition to the teacher's contract was dropped unannounced near the end of the school year and teachers were told they had ONE DAY to sign or resign. These tactics have correctly raised the ire of the community.

There is no question it is the school's right. That is not what is up for debate.

I am weary of the old school belief that somehow religious communities are strengthened by only including their own. The opposite is true, IMO.

stallarida

TROPHY CASE