17 Comments

Ah, ASMR. Nothing like listening to people trim their toenails and slurp ramen noodles to soothe the mind.

I sometimes worry Substack is my candy. 😳

No, it definitely is.

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Holy cow, did you just read Johan Hari’s “Stolen Focus” too? I finished it yesterday and you two are both spot on. I’m going to start by grabbing my loppers and going out and trimming some fallen limbs at one of my favorite trails and I’m going to leave my damned phone behind.

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No, but I need to! I loved Chasing the Scream, and I meant to read Lost Connections. He writes too fast, I can't keep up (says the guy who publishes two things every week on Substack).

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Stolen Focus is good on addressing “not blaming individuals,” Hari analyzes a lot of policy decisions, app design, etc that are designed to keep everyone distracted

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Yeah, I’m really intrigued by his idea that we could end surveillance capitalism ... it’s an ambitious but seductive goal.

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I really enjoyed Stolen Focus. I was off twitter for 2.5 weeks after reading it!

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Whole Foods carries a Doritos imitation, Late July Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips. Somehow, they are better than Doritos in every way. Flavor. Crunch. Not making your fingers orange. Pronounceable ingredients. I’m going to pour myself a kombucha and eat some now 🤤

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Got "Stolen Focus" on its way. I should probably reread Crawford's "The World Beyond Your Head: How to Become an Individual in the Age of Distraction." Though I think he should tweak the sub title and refer to the present as the Age of Addiction: addiction to food, drugs. devices, booze, screens, apps, video games, outrage, fear, hate, vengeance...

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So much to think about! Mental overload. I'm not going to get anything done!

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Mar 13, 2023Liked by J.E. Petersen

All I can think of it "Welcome to the Internet" by good ol' Mr. Burnham

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Mar 13, 2023Liked by J.E. Petersen

I mean, did you write this one JUSt for me???

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You weren't supposed to find out...

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Jan 13Liked by J.E. Petersen

Very true - I love the idea of the ascetic economy - though anything neoliberal will eventually destroy its initial intentions and the object of its intentions through greed

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You're right, of course. Which is why it's more of an internal than an external idea. Something conceived and maintained within individual hearts and minds, as well as woven through the tight-knit fabric of families and communities.

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How the hell did you see me eating those cookies at 2am whilst bingeing another episode of Ozark??

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I’ve got eyes everywhere. How else could my insights on human nature be so on point all the time?

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baking bread and more bread the feeling of the dough between my fingers the bubbles the bounce the give and pull and the bend and stretch are the best the slap against the counter the rise and fall aww. 😍

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