An Infliction of Sacred Wounds: On Mental Health Under Capitalist Realism (Fisher's Ghosts, part 4)

The system, which supposedly generates prosperity for everyone to an unprecedented degree, doesn’t. We’re told that it works, we’re told that doing all of these things should help, and we internalize this narrative. It becomes a subconscious mantra, the way that an Orthodox monk is encouraged to say the Jesus Prayer in time with his heartbeat. You see: we’ve been sold a fantasy that does not map on to reality. Human beings are smart enough that you don’t have to actually give us the reward. You just have to convince us that the reward is there.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Hourly And Have Had It With Your Behavior

Look, the assumption that public-facing jobs inherently suck is an outgrowth of the idea that your job should be the locus of personal fulfillment in your life. Americans don’t have hobbies; they have jobs — call it a “calling,” call it a “passion,” call it what the fuck you want, but at the end of the day, it’s just a fucking job.

Analysis, Written by: Edgar, PersonalC.-E. BoylesSeptember 16, 2019service industry, personal, personhood Comment

Closed for Construction: on Leaving Midtown.

The problem with railing against nostalgia as a cultural phenomenon is that when you experience it yourself, you feel like a phony.

Crafting a Healthy Masculinity (Part 2): Ending Martyr Culture

Martyr Culture is not particularly masculine, but it is endemic in American masculinity. It's the mindset that says you have to sacrifice everything to have any worth. In that way, it's sort of at the crossroads of capitalism and toxic masculinity.

Rise Like the Fenix [sic]: On Seeing Refused in Lawrence, Kansas

On the 22nd of May this year, Edgar and I went with a friend (Erik, who played the Sheriff in the Crooked Man) to see the Refused play with Bleached and the Hives; while there we met with Alex (who is hard at work on the next episode,) and his fiancee. We hadn't even known that Bleached was there, much to Erik's delight, and I've never really listened to the Hives. The sole draw for me, in short, was Refused.