“When the dog bites, when the bee stings
-Lyrics from My Favorite Things
When I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so bad.”
My Favorite People & Things
- People
- My partner, my friends & my family
- Idiosyncratic people with their own worldview, e.g., most children, because they are growing or have grown in a way that has something to teach us
- Animals because animals are people
- Moments
- When understanding soaks in and washes away my ignorance
- Discovering a movie masterpiece in a language I don’t speak
- Finally getting an intractable piece of code, hardware, etc. to work
- Watching the falling snow, backlit by street lights, while waiting at a bus stop
- Running on a beach boardwalk, at night, with the sound of waves and the feel of the sea breeze cooling the sweat on my skin
- Activities
- Running & PT
- Cooking for other people
- Geopolitical forecasting and Brier scores
- Looking for and buying interesting gifts for friends and family, particularly the children I know
- Culture
- Music
- David Bowie
- Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane
- WFMU’s Wake & Bake
- Finding a new song I like, some examples can be found on this list
- Film
- David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia, particularly this quote
- Stanley Kubrick, more 2001 than Barry Lyndon
- Yamada Yoji, Twilight Samurai, particularly this quote and the man’s love for his daughters, who grow like wheat in the field
- Satyajit Ray, The World of Apu
- Sergio Leone, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is probably the best example
- Saleem Hiner, My Sweet Pepperland
- Shane Carruth, Primer
- Books
- See key books
- Clifton Fadiman’s The New Lifetime Reading Plan
- Hermann Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game
- Iain M. Banks The Culture series
- Comics & Graphic Art
- Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series
- Anything by Alan Moore
- Games
- The Fallout franchise, particularly Fallout 3
- Baldur’s Gate
- Photography
- Comedy
- Parody religions, such as Discordianism
- The comedic lineage of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, etc.
- Weird
- Music
- Technology
- Things
- Flipside wallets
- Otterbox phone case protection
- A Merkur Safety Razor with Israeli Personnas
- The Atlas Sling
- Westmark Germany Hermetus Steel 3-in-1 Resealer Beer Bottle Opener
- A Carbon Fiber Compact Key Holder
- Pentel GraphGear Drafting Pencil, 0.9mm
- Staedtler Mars technico, lead holder, 2mm
- Staedtler Mars 502 2mm lead sharpener
- Staedtler Mars plastic eraser
- Fisher Space Pen Bullet Space Pen with Clip
- Rite in the Rain All-Weather Side-Spiral Notebook, 4 5/8″ x 7″, Black Cover, Universal Pattern (No. 773)
- Tribit Bluetooth Speaker
- PrettyCare 3D Sleep Mask
- Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs
- Sticker Shield Windshield Sticker Applicator
- Fantastic Ice Scraper with Brass Blade
- Zojirushi SM-KHE48AG Stainless Steel Mug
- Kingston USB drives
- Mudder Silicone Tub Stopper Drain Plug, 6 Inches
- Travel Compact Bungee Clothesline
- Speedo Men’s Solid Rally Volley 19 Inch Workout & Swim Trunks
- Kuhn Rikon High Performance Ratchet Grinder
- Accusharp 014C Knife Sharpener
- IPOW Car Safety, Seatbelt Cutter Emergency Class/Window Breaker
- Salux Nylon Japanese Wash Cloth
- Styptic Pencil
- Toto Bidet
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