Daily Archives: July 22, 2022

What I learned this week, July 22, 2022

Posted on by Bill Chance
Artwork in the Braindead Brewing Company, Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas

Open-minded people have a different visual perception of reality

Psychologists have only begun to unravel the concept of “personality,” that all-important but nebulous feature of individual identity. Recent studies suggest that personality traits don’t simply affect your outlook on life, but the way you perceive reality.

Struggling with positive thinking? Research shows grumpy moods can actually be useful

As psychiatry, which uses medical and biological methods to treat mental disorders, has largely overtaken psychotherapy, which relies on non-biological approaches such as conversation and counselling, psychotherapists have sought alternative challenges. One common approach is to focus on enhancing the happiness of mentally healthy people, rather than relieving the mental pain and trauma of those who are suffering.

Heat
Heat

8 Creative Ways People Kept Cool Before Air Conditioning

It’s therefore no surprise that people have come up with a range of ingenious, harebrained, and sometimes grim but often remarkable ways to stay cool during a summer scorcher. Below are eight highlights.

Wind Turbines Blackwell, Oklahoma (click to enlarge)

The real-world consequences of green extremism

Humankind long ago acquired the technological ability to thrive in all climes, but citizens of the most advanced nations must now check the weather forecast to know if their fridges and household lights will work or be shut down in an electricity blackout.

A group of friends in front of the Dallas Museum of Art, night, long exposure

The Grown-Up’s Guide to Making and Keeping Friends

The best advice for finding your people, staying close, and getting through the hard parts.

Recycled Books, Denton, Texas

7 Fiction Books That Change The Way You Think

Non-fiction books of today are equally entertaining to read as fiction books. That’s also because they’re forced to be more interesting — books have a lot of competition these days.

14 Fun Facts About Fireflies

Fact number 3: In some places at some times, fireflies synchronize their flashing

The 50 Greatest Fictional Deaths of All Time

The most tearjerking, hilarious, satisfying, and shocking death scenes in 2,500 years of culture.

How where you’re born influences the person you become

Today, unique behaviors and characteristics seem ingrained in certain cultures.

What Counts as Seeing

A conversation between Alice Wong and Ed Yong

Licorice Pizza

Posted on by Bill Chance

“If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you?”
― Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master: A Screenplay

Cook throwing dough at Serious Pizza, Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas

I’m a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson. I’ve seen everything – wrote about Phantom Thread – and of course the impossible task of filming Pynchon Inherent Vice. I wanted to see his newest, Licorice Pizza – but never made it to the theater. Still, somehow, I was able to get a digital copy of the film and put it on my Kindle Fire 10.

I have been doing well in getting my ten miles a day of bike riding – so far in July I’m seven miles ahead of my pace. One cheat I do is that I joined the Huffhines Recreational Center (I am old enough for the senior discount – it’s a lot cheaper than a health club) down at the end of my block and they have really nice recumbent bicycles. An hour of stationary riding counts as ten miles in my mind – and I’m sticking to it. If I ride too many days in a row outside my shoulders begin to hurt – so a day on a recumbent is a big help.

Most of the bikes have flat screens and a good selection of channels – but one bike is more old-school without a screen. It’s not very popular – I’ve never seen anyone else using it – but I can prop my Tablet on the bike and watch a movie. So over the last two workout sessions I watched Licorice Pizza.

It wasn’t a great movie – but it was a lot of fun and a perfect way to let the hours go by while I pedaled away. It’s a pastiche, an homage to a certain time, the seventies, which I remember really well.

Waterbeds form an important plot point – and that’s one thing from back in the day that I still miss even now. I had a waterbed for about a decade (or a little more) and never slept better.

Another plot point is the oil embargo and subsequent shortage (lines at gas stations) and that, unfortunately, feels all too familiar right now. I remember 1980 well and the disaster that happened feels like it is happening again. The only difference is that in 1980 I was single and young and all I needed was to buy a couple Ramen Noodle packs and I could get through the day.

Life is a lot more complicated and risky now.