First, thank you to everybody who listened to the first episode of Men in Gorilla Suits last week! Really loved the comments, too. There’s always time to comment on last week’s episode before commenting on this week’s.
Speaking of this week…today we’re talking about building one’s own reality. No, not like Dr. Manhattan in the Watchman — this week it’s all about creating spaces that suit your personality and finding spaces while out and about where you can do your own thing. And realities aren’t just physical space anymore; we now have the ability to create virtual realities — we talk about that for a bit…as well as talk about how people create realities with role playing games and video games. All that’s rounded out with talk about fitness hacks, meditation, and lucid dreaming. There’s really no excuse to not have fun with the real world!
Hope you enjoy this week’s chat and let us know in comments. Come back next week when it’s all about…Conspiracy Theories!
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I’m looking forward to finishing my move into my own house and creating a work room that’s all mine, with my all my books, art, fabric, etc. Lots of inspiration and ideas in this episode, thanks!
Christopher, you keep surprising me with our similar interests. I used to read Omni magazine, and I’ve also had an interest in lucid dreaming since childhood. I’ve only had a few lucid dreams, though.
Writing from an iphone – that’s impressive. Blocking out distractions has always been a big challenge for me, though I was better at it in school. Here’s my prediction for the next career trend – writing about “writing about writing,” from a pair of app-enhanced Google glasses. 😉
You guys sound like you have a finger on the pulse of transhuman culture. I look forward to more geekiness!
Writing from an iPhone is doubly impressive if you see how sausage-like my fingers are.
Seriously, though, it’s easy when you get into it. The iPhone keypad is the best touchscreen I’ve ever used.
I just finished up reading a recent Thomas Jefferson bio, and I’m convinced that the guy was the original American Geek. He was always geeking out over scientific discoveries and exploration. Even to the point of being ridiculed for it by some contemporaries. He even kind of looked the part, red-haired, occasionally unkempt, and always envisioning possibilities.
Even so, my take now is that it took a true geek to bring us the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase, and the University of Virginia.
I would totally hang with Jefferson. He seemed like my kind of guy. Which biography did you read?
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. It’s by Jon Meacham. It was a great read.
CMS: I’m glad you liked the episode. I look forward to the day I can have an office that’s totally my design and my wife can have her 18th century-themed sewing and art room. And I’m serious that it will be a coin toss for an Irish pub or the bar in Star Trek: The Next Generation should we ever have room.
Shawn does a lot more writing on his phone than I do, but this year I’m shooting for lower word counts, but writing more often. I’ve found I can rough things out and hit my word count easily by writing on my iPhone and emailing it to myself.
Nate: Great points! Jefferson, Franklin, and so many others were geeks. They brewed, they loved science, and they had their obsessions and then some. Jefferson definitely had the disheveled look down; I aspire to that myself!
I did not expect build your own reality to go into lucid dreaming or fitness. You guys do a great job keeping the topics coming without sounding rushed. And soundtracks! One of my favorite hacks. Thanks for making something cool.
Thanks for listening, Deacon. I’ve long been obsessed with the effect one’s surroundings have on them. When I was younger and messy, I didn’t get as much done. When I kept my room clean, I was usually more productive. We’re lucky to be able to create environments we like. Just yesterday, I finally ordered a replica of the map from Time Bandits — it will hang on the wall above my desk. It was a movie that made me really think about writing professionally. When it came out, I watched it two times in a row; then, I went back the next day and watched it a third time, trying to figure out how one would go about writing a movie and getting it onscreen. I no longer want to surround myself with a desk full of action figures at home, but I want a nice office that still has my geeky loves on display. Something as simple as a framed map from a fave movie hanging over the spot where I write is a great reminder to keep that enthusiasm I had about writing when I was 12 years old alive.
Soundtracks are also great; you got me hooked on the Solaris soundtrack — I listen to it at least once a week.