Linklettes * 17 - Old Bitch, New Tricks Edition.

by Jessica Brookman in

Can you teach an old bitch new tricks? God I hope so...Happy monday. 

Source: Colossal. 

Source: Colossal. 

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THE ONE: The Fire Alarm is Ringing. What are you waiting for?  

This is a slice from The Examined Life by psychoanalyst Steven Grosz. 

Covering decisions that span from leaving lovers to running out of burning buildings, he observes that 'research has shown that, when a fire alarm rings, people do not act immediately. They talk to each other, and they try to work out what is going on. They stand around.'

If you've ever ignored a dangerous or painful situation out of fear of risk or change, you should read this.  

THE GAME: BUSINESS INSIDER needs real journalists. 

No, that is not the fucking name of an article. The name of the article in question (this time) is "Pot Farmers Alledgedly Kept Girl in Metal Box for Sex." Now, now, BI. Is the fact that they are pot farmers considered salient information here? Or are you just being dicks. Personally, I'd like to separate the need to keep people in unusual combinations of labor and sex bondage from the need to smoke doobies. Frankly, the more pot I smoke, the less I feel the need to keep anyone in my human-sized metal garage box...er...have sex....er...fuck it. At least they're protecting the innocence of the....ah, nevermind. 

THE #LONGREAD: Why Men Need Women. 

Adam Grant's latest NYT Op-Ed responds to a study detailing women's softening effect on wealthy men. I'm mostly WTF about most of the things that men and women say about each other in popular media lately. I don't understand the oppositional tone, honestly. It seems like we've forgotten that micro- and macro-scale observations on gender relations should be continuous, not isolated from each other. (I'm more about leveraging soft power. This is part of the reason why I own a lot of tailored sheath dresses, for example.)

Men are certainly not the enemy of women (not any more than women are, that is). Understanding natural effect is more exciting to me than fighting them. And frankly, balance is more useful to everyone (especially women) than some objective equality. 

Then again, I've spent most of my adult life in male-dominated environments, perhaps I am brainwashed. 

THE BEAUTY: The Pixel Painter.

The fountain of youth, and generalized source of life harmony, is personal growth. Want to enjoy every day of your life, motherfucker? Keep challenging yourself. And make cool shit. 

Need inspiration? Watch this 97 year old artist turn MS Paint into a respectable medium. (via Colossal)

Hal Lasko, better known as Grandpa, worked as a graphic artist back when everything was done by hand. His family introduced him to the computer and Microsoft Paint long after he retired. Now, Grandpa spends ten hours a day moving pixels around his computer paintings. His work is a blend of pointillism and 8-Bit art. Meet 97-year-old Hal Lasko, The Pixel Painter. See more work at hallasko.com Director: Josh Bogdan (joshbogdan.com) Director: Ryan Lasko Editor/Writer: Josh Bogdan Director of Photography: Topaz Adizes (topazadizes.com) Original Music: Jarrod Pedone Original Music: Tyler H. Brown (thbproductions.com) hallasko.com

THE SOUND: Stavroz - The Finishing 

There is something sexual about actually playing music instruments. Musicians. Try it. 

Since you've all been waiting so long for our new release we thought it would be fun to have Nathan (on saxophone) give you a wonderful story, drenched in a Stavroz sauce. Eat it while it's hot!

There you have it. It's monday, go do something.  

Brookman.


Linklettes * 16 - Hustlers and Sociopaths Edition

by Jessica Brookman in

Hello all you Patrick Batemans, Welcome to Monday.

Bijou Phillips in the video for Sweetest Kill. 

Bijou Phillips in the video for Sweetest Kill. 

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THE ONE: CONFESSIONS OF A SOCIOPATH. 

I deal with sociopaths on a professional level. I am nearly one, myself. Or at least, I can be mistaken for one -- I am an INTP. And amongst most people -- especially women -- I am an alien life-form. (Along with many of the rest of the 1% of chicks who have a brain anything like this.) The hallmark of this type is a particular way of integrating information and mirroring it back plainly and confidently that has made me an excellent teacher as well as freaked out all of my ex-boyfriends.

It has granted me perpetual outsider status. 

But that trait alone would not make me a sociopath. It just makes me to someone who can recognize sociopathic behavior. And fortunately or unfortunately, once I recognize it, it's like the NYC Subway "See something. Say something." No, to be a sociopath, for that I'd have to lack a moral code and I certainly have one. It's just not the same as yours. 


But having insight into this type of mind does equip me with a certain skill set -- objectivity and clarity of thought -- that enables me to...uh...handle negotiations and debate with psychopaths with unsettling ease. 

(It also allows me to write without worrying about what people will think of me.)

Anyway, there's been a burst of activity on this subject lately with the release of diagnosed-sociopath M.E. Thomas's book Confessions of a Sociopath. Of course, she's writing under a pen name at the stake of her reputation, which is a shame, really. In my young career, I've had the dubious pleasure of dealing with an unusual number of sociopaths. Many of whom are high-functioning and non-violent. 

I think they are a highly misunderstood (and pervasively adaptive) minority of the population. Stigma is limiting...so if you want to expand your understanding of these humans beyond American Psycho, I recommend this interview Thomas did for NPR.

THE GAME: ALL SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS HAVE THIS...

Sociopaths are notoriously more fearless than the majority of the population. (Perhaps that's why we see them crowding boardrooms and our Capitol...). It could be pure coincidence that courage is the trait most closely tied to success as an entrepreneur.

The paradox of the trait lies in that is adaptive but also extremely unsettling and often misinterpreted as dangerous. It makes less fearless people feel uneasy.The less fearless then project their sense of danger onto the more fearless person, which will cause them to have to either confront their fear OR reject that person. (Did someone say #foreveralone?)

I know there are a lot of "near 'paths" and (a few real ones, too) in this class...because it does take a sort of insane courageousness to confront our own fears. After all, it's not easy hustling. But once you pull that trigger, it gets pretty hard to suffer fools...

THE #LONGREAD: HOW TO SPOT A SOCIOPATH

Caitlin Dickson @ The Daily Beast wrote a review on M.E Thomas's Confessions. Hint: It might be you. OK. It's definitely you. Psycho. 

THE BEAUTY

I totally, like, didn't go on the internet this week because i was too busy working...namely writing pages of my book on construction paper and melting in the east coast heat wave. #idowhatiwant. So here are some weird little prints and images I made recently. Self-promotion is kind of sociopathic, I guess. Whatever: 

 

THE SOUND: SWEETEST KILL - Broken Social Scene

This isn't a new song. It's from 2010. But they're a talented group and undervalued, I believe. So take a listen.

I'm not embedding the video for those of you who may be...um...easily disturbed. But the quick synopsis is that Bijou Phillips has been reading a little too much Bret Easton Ellis. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, have to go return some video tapes,  
BROOKMAN