the founder and ceo of amazon. the first person ever worth $200 billion.

the most paid hollywood actor for now.

(see: #667)

reminds me of istanbul and its traffic. i'd rather live in istanbul though *

must-see places:

marshall beach
lands end
filbert steps
golden gate bridge
baker beach
sutro baths
crissy field
arsicault bakery
16th avenue tiled steps
b. patisserie
twin peaks image
palace of fine arts image image
dragon gate
saigon sandwich
marin headlands
oliveto cafe & restaurant
dolores park
bi-rite creamery
tartine bakery
dandelion chocolate
urban putt
taqueria el farolito
la ciccia
union square image image
saison
fisherman's wharf
ghirardelli square
san francisco premium outlets
lombard street image image

philosophy is interested in questions instead of answers.

alcetas was a prominent macedonian warlord who was mentioned among alexander the great's influential generals. after alexander's death, alcetas was challenged by antigonus, one of alexander's commanders. the war between the two warlords took place in the region of psidia and resulted in alcetas' resounding defeat. alcetas sought refuge in termessos, and the residents of the city provided protection to him. in subsequent months, in order to protect the city from danger, the elders of termessos wanted to hand alcetas over to antigonus, who had set his military camp at the foot of the mountain. alcetas did not want to face a gruesome death, so he took his own life. to this day, his grave lies on a rock wall in the highlands of termessos.

the grave is a 15-minute trek from the colonnaded street of termessos. it is a pleasant hike, not a cumbersome one. the first thing i noticed upon reaching the site was the large rock carving of alcetas on a horse on the wall above the grave. it surprised me greatly to see that this rock carving survived despite harsh natural elements, such as the scorching heat and interminable humidity. image

"i'm going to walk to the bridge. if one person smiles at me on the way, i won't jump."
(see: #918)

a very delicious rice dish. azerbaijani version:
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but uzbek version is one of my favorite dishes:
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there are a few different ways in which psychologists have attempted to explain masochistic epistemology. one explanation is that it may be related to an individual's sense of self-worth and their feelings of worthlessness or inadequacy. according to this perspective, masochistic individuals may believe that they are not worthy of knowledge or understanding, and that they must suffer in order to earn it.

another explanation is that masochistic epistemology may be related to a person's attachment style. individuals with an insecure attachment style may have a harder time trusting others and may be more likely to engage in masochistic behaviors in order to feel a sense of control or to avoid abandonment.

it is worth noting that while masochistic epistemology may be a belief held by some individuals, it is not a widely accepted or mainstream view in psychology. most psychologists would argue that knowledge and understanding can be gained through hard work and effort, but that suffering is not necessarily a necessary component.

the 48 laws of power is a book written by robert greene that outlines 48 strategies for gaining and maintaining power in relationships, organizations, and society. the laws cover a wide range of topics including self-promotion, manipulation, deception, and the acquisition of power through the manipulation of perception and image. some of the most well-known laws include: "never outshine the master," "play a suckers to catch a sucker," and "conceal your intentions." the book is written in a historical context, with examples from figures such as machiavelli, sun tzu, and julius caesar. it is intended as a guide for individuals seeking to gain power, but has also been criticized for promoting unethical behavior.

the 2024 united states presidential election is scheduled for tuesday, november 5, 2024. voters will elect a president and vice president for a term of four years.

the incumbent president, joe biden, has announced that he is running for re-election. his predecessor, donald trump, has also announced that he is running for re-election to a second, nonconsecutive term. a number of primary election challengers have also declared their candidacies for the nomination of both major parties.

the 2024 election is expected to be a close race, with biden and trump as the two leading contenders. other potential candidates include florida governor ron desantis, former south carolina governor nikki haley, and former secretary of state mike pompeo.

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

will be my new title soon.

the u.s. calls itself a democracy, but in practice it’s more like a system that just looks like one on paper.

first off, the u.s. is not a true multi-party system. it’s structured to push everything into two poles: democrats and republicans. technically there are other parties, like the green party, libertarians, and a few others, but the system is designed so they can’t really compete.

why? because the u.s. uses a “winner-takes-all” voting system. whoever gets the most votes in a state wins all the representation, and everyone else gets nothing. so if a candidate gets 49% of the vote, they get zero representation. smaller parties with 2 or 3% of the vote get completely shut out. over time, voters learn that voting for anyone besides the two big parties is basically wasting their vote. so even if someone likes what the green party stands for, they’ll think “if i vote green, it’ll only help republicans win.” tactical voting becomes the norm: “i can’t pick what i really want, but at least i can try to block what i really don’t want.” this is why third parties get called “spoilers.”

then there’s money. running for office in the u.s. costs millions. the big parties can easily tap into corporate money. the media focuses only on the two big parties, and third parties barely get heard. parties that aren’t seen as having a shot get treated like a joke.

the most blatant example of the system’s flaws is the electoral college. americans don’t elect their president by popular vote. they vote for electors, and those electors decide. with 538 total electors, a candidate needs 270 to win. this system makes it possible for someone to lose the popular vote by millions and still become president. it’s happened more than once: in 2000, al gore got about 540,000 more votes than bush and still lost. in 2016, hillary clinton got around 3 million more votes than trump and still lost. so “one person, one vote” isn’t really a thing here. the system also forces candidates to only campaign in swing states. voters in places like california or texas basically get ignored.

now add lobbying. the 2010 citizens united supreme court ruling made things even worse. it said that spending money on elections is a form of free speech. so now corporations, unions, and the super-rich can pour unlimited money into “super pacs” that run ads and shape public opinion. politicians can’t really win without tapping into this money. and after the election, these donors have huge influence on what laws get passed. ordinary people have little voice compared to big donors.

so how do americans still think they live in a democracy? because at this point “democracy” is more of a brand than a real system. like “freedom” or “justice” or “peacekeeping.” it’s a label people have been taught to be proud of since childhood. public schools teach that the u.s. system is unique and the freest in the world. the media repeats this constantly: “look at china, look at russia.” they never say “look at switzerland or norway.” so americans grow up believing “sure, our system has flaws, but it’s still the best.”

for most people here, democracy means: do we have elections? yes. can i vote? yes. can i criticize the government? usually, yes. so that must mean it’s a democracy. but things like fair representation, media monopolies, and the influence of money barely register for most people. criticizing the system feels like criticizing america itself, and people get defensive. it’s less about what democracy actually is and more about what it symbolizes. for many americans, democracy isn’t a functioning system, it’s part of their national identity.

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