Third Base Post 1

To be honest, I'm not too sure how I feel about the actions of the author. One part of me understands why he gave away his wealth. At the same time, another part of me shouts that he's being really stupid. These feelings aside, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't enjoy it in the same carefree way that I enjoy reading about adventurers and people who overcome obstacles. I enjoyed the book in a way that I'm not entirely sure about how to describe. The book really forced me to think and come to terms with many of the issues about wealth that had been sitting somewhere in my head. In a sense, Collins asked the right questions, and gave the correct anecdotes that got readers thinking.

I particularly like how Collins outlines the idea that people often seek to become the object of their own hatred, when he asks a group of people whether they despise the 1%, and whether they would want to be part of the 1%. This anecdote interested me greatly because I used to always think about this exact set of questions, and struggled to come up with a reasoning behind why we tend to associate those within the top 1% negatively, yet strive so hard to become part of that group. After a lot of deliberation, however, I came to realize that in terms of the world population, most Americans are in the 1%. The annual salary from the federal minimum wage would give someone enough wealth to be within the top 5% of earners worldwide, while an annual salary over $40,000 would put someone well within the top 1%.

On a completely separate note, while I do believe that the poverty rate and wealth gap within America is an issue, I don't think that Collins is tackling the issue in a productive way. His idea of promoting progressive populism in order to "get people to look up the economic ladder to target their populist wrath at the richest 1 percent" is hypocritical. He condemns regressive populism, where minorities are blamed for issues behind poverty and wealth without any evidence, and then proceeds to blame the 1% without any support. This type of logic is akin to saying that these corporations and individuals are becoming wealthy by taking money out of the accounts of other people. When examined case by case, it is clear that there are many factors that contribute to why families and individuals are below the poverty line.

All in all, I agree with some statements made by Collins, and disagree with others. It's interesting to see these issues from the perspective of someone who was in the 1%. So far, the book has made me think about ways to articulate my conceptions about wealth that I previously had feelings about but didn't necessarily know how to convey, and has made the book so far enjoyable.

(Another) random SMOOTHIE post

Ok so I know the title says that this post is about smoothies, but it's actually not. I'm not a smoothie connoisseur, so I pretty much said everything I wanted to say about smoothies in my last smoothie post. The title was just clickbait and I'm actually going to talk about CHESS.

  

Basically, I got into competitive chess 2 years ago sporadically with a bunch of my friends that I made from college, and with friends I knew from high school. It was a pretty crazy movement because none of us really knew anything about chess, besides how to move the pieces. But after a few of us started getting into it, it seemed like everyone I knew was watching videos about new strategies and testing them out on each other. The reason why I’m talking about chess in this post is because I’ve been on a chess hiatus for about 6 months, after losing about 20 matches in a row and probably raising my blood pressure in the process. And sure, I was also really busy with finals towards the end of last spring and with my internships/externships over the summer, but we’ll glance over that right now. I’ve gotten back into chess recently and surprisingly, my rank isn’t a ton worse than when I stopped 6 months ago. ANYWAYS, I’m going to cut this post short so that I can write about chess more in future random posts that we’ll get assigned (I’ve learned from writing too much in my last smoothie post…). If anyone wants to play a few games for fun (or for money), let me know!

nEW ROAD POST

I have good news. I actually really liked this book! Steinem offers an interesting perspective on life and traveling that I never really thought about before. Her addiction to traveling and experiences she gained from her time abroad helps point out things that I never really thought about, like how much of a difference having or not having a car can make. Having lived in the Manhattan area, I can safely say that you don't really need a car to get around, and in fact, a car would actually be more of a hassle. Yay for functioning public transportation! Now that I've pretty much decided on living in the bay area after graduation, I'm actually a little bummed out that I'll have to get a car, and pay for insurance and gas since paying for a monthly unlimited metro pass is so much cheaper. Who knows though, maybe Elon Musk will come up with a plan for good public transportation in the bay area as a side project while he figures out how to get to Mars. 

On a more serious note though, after reading about all of her stories from travel abroad, I'm glad that I have a place that I can go back to where I can completely be at home. I know she basically says that home is where to heart is, but being able to go back to one place where all of your friends and family live is reassuring. 

ROAD

I'm not gonna lie, the beginning of My Life on the Road was a little tough to get through. In fact, it was pretty slow for me up until half way through the first chapter. I probably would've stopped reading it if I had randomly picked it up at a library (I'm not a very patient guy) and the entire time I was just thinking to myself, "please don't be like that farmer book." But I'm glad I stuck with it because I actually really enjoy this book! Steinem provides a really interesting perspective on life, having been through an "unconventional" childhood and the book was actually pretty eye opening. Also, compared to Kurt, Steinem actually seems to take her audience into consideration so extra points for that Gloria.

For me, the idea that stood out the most to me was that Gloria is very candid about her life. She doesn't romanticize traveling, or embellish her stories with little lies to make them seem more interesting. She gives credit where credit is due and isn't afraid to point out the parts that sucked. I hear a lot of people nowadays saying that they want to travel more and see different places, and I'll admit that I would love to get out more too. I personally didn't travel very much in my childhood, and only recently started to travel. But having read about Gloria's childhood of never ending travel, and the struggles that came with, I'm pretty satisfied and grateful for what I've had. I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side.