Escape the Matrix

We are in a digital gold rush for the next ten years. It’s time for generation Z to wake up

Blackrock bitcoin white paper

Here’s a concise summary of the key points from the PDF, Bitcoin: A Unique Diversifier:

  1. Bitcoin’s Journey: Over the past 15 years, Bitcoin has transformed from obscurity to a globally adopted asset, despite being volatile and still in early adoption stages.
  2. Uncorrelated Asset: Bitcoin is unique in its fundamental detachment from traditional macro variables like equities and bonds, making it an attractive portfolio diversifier. It has shown low long-term correlation with equities, though short-term co-movements do occur during liquidity shifts.
  3. Bitcoin’s Unique Appeal:
  • Scarcity: Its fixed supply of 21 million units makes it resistant to debasement.
  • Decentralization: Bitcoin operates without central authority, allowing global, low-cost, near-instant transactions.
  • Store of Value: Despite high volatility, Bitcoin has consistently outperformed other major asset classes over a 10-year period.
  1. Risks and Volatility: While Bitcoin offers diversification, it remains a highly risky asset with significant short-term volatility and uncertainty. It has experienced major drawdowns but has a history of recovery and long-term growth.
  2. Global Events and Bitcoin: In some cases, Bitcoin has been viewed as a “flight to safety” asset during disruptive geopolitical events, though its behavior in such times can be mixed.
  3. Portfolio Diversification: Adding Bitcoin in small allocations to a traditional portfolio (e.g., 60/40 equities and fixed income) can improve risk-adjusted returns. However, higher allocations increase volatility.
  4. Future Potential: Bitcoin’s long-term adoption will likely depend on global concerns regarding monetary stability, political risks, and the sustainability of the U.S. fiscal system.
  5. Regulatory and Ecosystem Risks: Bitcoin faces regulatory challenges and the risks of an immature ecosystem, highlighting the importance of cautious investment approaches.

This document emphasizes Bitcoin’s role as a unique asset class, with both opportunities for diversification and significant risks.

Human Parasites

Human Parasites

Have you ever had a conversation with somebody, and all they do is moan, complain, and yap about their problems to you? This happened to me yesterday, and frankly, it happens to me quite often, for some reason, and it’s really draining sometimes. I believe that certain words, phrases, sentences, and conversations are like dark spells that travel through the air. But as a strong warrior, you must be prepared at all times with an invisible force field that does not allow these attacks to affect you.

I remember my favorite character in League of Legends was Blitzcrank because he was a super tanky robot and could absorb the most hit points. I think we should go through life like a tank, like Blitzcrank, and never let anyone suck our power. If anything, Blitzcrank, when his health was low, could absorb the points from the minions, the parasites, and actually increase his health. With strong defense, nothing can break my spirit or my lust for life!

Vitality, Vitality, Vitality

The goal of life is to increase your vitality. Everything is physical, stop thinking in your head. Your brain is just a byproduct of your body. The stronger your body, the stronger your mind. When you have strength and vitality at the forefront, nothing can enter and penetrate your mind. The measly thoughts that enter the brains of the weak creep in like parasites or worms. The anxiety, the mass neurosis, the vision that this modern society breeds is the byproduct of a lack of vitality and a new domesticated dog breed. Man is domesticated like a dog, enslaved within a zoo utopia.

Break free from the cage. Say no to the box. You must increase your vitality in this modern world to be free. The stronger and more physical you are, the freer you will become. Man does not belong within the four corners of a room. Man belongs in open spaces, grazing freely, moving openly. You domesticate man, you breed a future generation of human parasites.

Time is Money

Time is the ultimate currency in this world. How are you spending your time? What are you paying attention to?

These are the questions that we should ask ourselves to find true meaning in life. If what you are spending your time doing is simply for the sake of making money and not bringing meaning or value into your life, then is it really worth it in the end?

In this modern world, we should start to reshape what success looks like as we stray further and further away from meaning. If you’re making $1 million per year, chasing a career, trapped in a cubicle, working for a corporation, but you have no time for family, no time to make art, no time to think, read, or write, then is this life worth living? I think that this is what causes misery among the masses.

Avoid Miserable People

If somebody is miserable, always in a bad mood, and has nothing positive to say, we should just avoid them like the plague and let them figure things out on their own. This is a problem with modern therapy: venting about our problems and unloading all of our feelings onto other people. To me, this is such a parasitical approach to mental health—it makes no sense to me. As a man, I recognize the hormones that keep me balanced, healthy, and strong-minded. By increasing my testosterone, I increase my happiness, my feeling of calm, my peace. My solitude is sacred to me. Because I cherish solitude so much, I make sure to try my absolute best to go the first eight hours of my day without interacting with a single soul.

This may sound crazy, but I seriously feel that most people have nothing interesting to say, nothing that I can learn from, nothing that will entertain me—just blah, blah, blah, complain, complain, complain 50% of the time. I’m pretty sure nobody likes their job or their life, and this is why people seek vacations all the time, to get away from the misery of everyday life.

Family or Career?

The next 10 years will be the digital gold rush, the opportunity for Generation Z to rise up and claim our future by acquiring digital property. I think a lot of us Gen Z folks have a negative outlook on the future because we see the rising costs of homes, inflation, and the depreciation of the dollar, and we think to ourselves, “How the hell are we ever going to form a family?” The more I talk with people, the more I realize that this is the reason why they do not want to have kids. They think it costs too much money.

This is why you’re seeing the population collapse and a complete lack of families being formed in the city of Philadelphia. Just travel anywhere else in the world, specifically Hanoi, Vietnam, and you will see how many children there are, how many families there are, and how prosperous they actually are in Southeast Asian countries. Maybe this is the future for us Gen Z folks: we just buy Bitcoin and get out of here? I don’t actually want to do this, because I love Philadelphia, but it’s just so eye-opening when you travel to other places and see how they thrive with family values and tradition at the forefront.

Anyways, it seems that people are chasing a career rather than family. We’re chasing money, fame, and all sorts of lame material things from this world that actually mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Climb that corporate ladder, look for that salary increase, spend all of your time working for the boss, and come home with nothing—no family, no children—and tell me that it was worth it?

Tribe and Ownership

One thing I learned during my Peace Corps service was the connection people in the tribe had to the land and how meaningful it was to them. As families are formed, and more children are born, the men gather together within their tribe and family, building more homes on the compound to raise their children in. They make sure to secure food, including animal husbandry and their farming practices. One project I worked on in particular was building a chicken coop and cultivating maize, cassava, eggplant, and other vegetables alongside fish ponds. When you have a connection to the land, ownership over the land, it gives a man a sense of purpose, duty, and meaning in life. The man will sacrifice everything for family.

However, in the West, here in the United States specifically—let’s say Philadelphia—we live on top of each other in these “luxury condos” that are basically like modern-day slums, stacked on top of each other, with zero community, zero sense of ownership. Think of the movie Ready Player One, where they’re basically living in poverty, stacked on top of each other in tin shacks, but have virtual reality and live within a second world in the metaverse. We’re basically living in this movie in real life, just not to the extreme where it’s visible poverty. We’re basically there, ha ha, when you think about it, but here’s the point: Everything that we’re innovating is happening within the digital world. The physical world is declining around us. Look at the artwork, look at the architecture, look at our culture, listen to our music—it’s all going downhill. Society is obviously in decline. But this is the modern world; this is the way we are going. There are other places, off the grid, far away—maybe in Southeast Asia, maybe in African villages—that are thriving, and I can assure you of that from firsthand experience.

I think the problem is our perception of what success looks like, what “luxury” means, and how “salary,” career, and money are replacing the goal of forming families.

Why I’m Happy with Nothing

Here’s the thing: happiness all derives from within. There is nothing external from the physical world that will bring you happiness in life. It does not matter if you’re playing the most hyper-realistic video game with the highest refresh rate, the best PC, driving the fastest car, on the best vacation, in the most beautiful location—it is all superficial if you cannot find yourself at peace from within. I am happy with nothing because I realized that I need nothing.

Frankly, the carnivore diet has taught me this. By eliminating breakfast and lunch from my life and recognizing that I only need one meal at night, consisting of one food group, it has really shaped my perception of the material world. For the past two years, I’ve essentially spent zero dollars. Meat is money. Nothing else is worth buying. Because I’ve adapted my body to only needing meat, I feel like I’m basically just living in simulated poverty, especially combining it with wearing barefoot shoes every day. This insanely frugal and Spartan lifestyle has taught me that I genuinely need nothing from this world. By returning to my primal instincts or way of life, it helped me tune out the noise of modern society and find what truly matters in life from within. But maybe you must remove yourself from the modern world by deleting all of the social media apps, start fasting, and just stay outside alone in nature for two years, ha ha, and then you figure it all out?

I’m So Eager to Sleep and Wake Up the Next Day

Every night, before I go to bed, I’m just so grateful to have a place to sleep. I tuck myself under my covers, hug my pillow, and can’t wait to wake up and see the sunrise the following day. When I wake up at 4:30, filled with vitality and energy, I’m so ready to conquer the day. I’m standing on top of the Art Museum steps right now and see a few stars twinkling in the sky. I’m always up a few hours early, too early to see the sun above the horizon, but it puts a smile on my face. I feel like I finally found my place in this world, in the city, and can find myself in an endless return—a turnover return, if you will—to the same moment, the same place, every day throughout the rest of eternity, with vitality and happiness in my stride. Nothing can break my spirit. Nothing can break my lust for life.

Optimistic for the Future

I see a future of decentralization. I see a future where our money is separated from the state. I see a future where our money is no longer supporting endless war. I see a future where we can actually work less but make more. I see a future of healthy people. I see a future of beautiful art. I see a future of endless innovation. I see a future of robot slaves and the freeing of office workers. I see a future that returns to family over career. I see a future where the individual has ownership and a voice in their community.

Tech Slavery

Technology has enslaved us, and it is time for us to wake up. If I were to give you the red pill, would you swallow it?

I think that once you go down the rabbit hole and see the technological enslavement that has plagued the masses in cities, it’s hard to go back and not see it. It’s so obvious, the way that we live our lives, slaves to the phone, to the computer, to the alarm bell ringing in the morning. We can’t even wake up without the need of an alarm or a car to get us to work. Everything is divided between us and technology, and it’s keeping us from forming true and authentic communities. It’s the reality that we live in though, right? The blue pill is nice, and the soma feels great. I absolutely love the blissful feeling of scrolling and consuming and eating these yummy foods from Uber Eats. I don’t even need to leave my home; I can simply work from home! This is awesome—I have Call of Duty loaded on my second monitor, and I’m taking phone calls with my AirPods on the first. The boss at HR won’t even know!

Man, this is freaking awesome—I don’t even need to meet with a partner, I have virtual reality and plug myself into porn. This is the best life, and I never want to go back. I want to stay in the matrix forever. I want to stay asleep, in a very, very deep sleep, until the day that I die because the dopamine hit is like a thrilling ride. Honestly, I never even feel sad, I can’t even remember the last time I cried. Maybe I can upload my brain to the cloud, and I’ll never die! This hamster wheel is just so comfortable. I don’t think I ever want to leave my cage. I don’t care if I’m a slave, I’ll make sure that I always behave. Anyways, I can’t even get out of line, because everything that I do is being documented online! If I say something wrong, I will get fired from my job, and I could be censored. Maybe they’ll suppress my voice and cancel my bank account. Then I won’t even be able to buy food! The system is rigged against you, and nobody truly cares, but it’s okay, just stay by your screen and stare.

Seven

Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, attributed deep symbolic and mystical significance to numbers, and seven was especially revered in their philosophy. Here’s a look at how Pythagoras viewed the number seven:

1. Perfection and Completeness

  • Pythagoras saw the number seven as a symbol of perfection and completeness. Unlike other numbers, seven was considered unique because it is the sum of three (representing the spiritual world or the divine) and four (representing the material world or nature). This made seven a number that linked heaven and earth, unifying the divine and the material.

2. Harmony and Balance

  • Seven was often regarded as a harmonious number, bringing balance. Pythagoras believed that the number seven governed the natural world and human life. For example, there are seven days in a week, seven classical planets, and seven notes in the musical scale. These recurring patterns in nature and human experience suggested to Pythagoras that seven was a guiding principle of cosmic order.

3. Health and Life Cycles

  • According to the Pythagoreans, human life is organized around cycles of seven years, sometimes called “hebdomads.” They believed that every seven years, people undergo significant changes in body and mind. This further reinforced the idea of seven as a number that governed growth, health, and life cycles.

4. Connection to the Cosmos

  • Pythagoras connected the number seven with the movement of the celestial bodies. In ancient astronomy, the seven classical planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were believed to move according to harmonious mathematical ratios, reflecting the idea of the Music of the Spheres. The number seven, therefore, symbolized cosmic harmony.

5. Sacred and Spiritual Significance

  • In the mystical and spiritual traditions of the Pythagoreans, seven was seen as a sacred number. It was often associated with spiritual enlightenment, divine knowledge, and the pursuit of wisdom. The number seven was believed to have a protective, guiding, and purifying influence.

Summary

For Pythagoras, the number seven represented harmony, balance, completeness, and a link between the divine and the material world. Its presence in nature, music, and celestial movements underscored its importance in his philosophy, embodying the perfect order and structure of the universe.

how is seven the sum of three?

You’re right to point out that seven is not the direct sum of three. Let me clarify the idea that Pythagoras and his followers associated with the number seven.

In Pythagorean philosophy, seven was often seen as a combination of the principles represented by the numbers three and four, rather than a simple sum. Here’s the reasoning:

  • Three was symbolic of the spiritual world or the divine. This is because it represented concepts like the triangle, which was seen as a perfect geometric shape, often symbolizing harmony, balance, and the presence of a higher order.
  • Four was symbolic of the material world or nature. The number four was often connected to physical reality, such as the four classical elements (earth, water, air, fire) or the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west).

The number seven, in this context, was seen as uniting these two principles: the spiritual (three) and the material (four), making it a number of wholeness and completeness. So while it’s not a direct sum, it’s more about the union of two powerful concepts that were symbolized by three and four in Pythagorean thought.

This way, seven became a symbolic number representing the harmony between the divine and the earthly realms, rather than a strict mathematical sum.

Catholic view on seven

In Catholic tradition, the number seven holds significant spiritual and symbolic meaning, often representing perfection, completeness, and divine order. The use of the number seven appears frequently in both the Bible and Catholic teachings, associated with key aspects of faith, sacraments, and moral teachings. Here’s a breakdown of the Catholic view of the number seven:

1. Seven Days of Creation

  • In the Book of Genesis, God creates the world in six days and rests on the seventh (Genesis 1-2). This gives the number seven a connection to completeness and divine perfection, as the creation of the universe is finished and made whole on the seventh day. The seventh day also becomes the Sabbath, a day of rest and worship.

2. Seven Sacraments

  • In Catholic teaching, there are seven sacraments, which are seen as visible signs of God’s grace, instituted by Christ. These sacraments represent the fullness of the spiritual journey from birth to death. The seven sacraments are:
    1. Baptism
    2. Confirmation
    3. Eucharist
    4. Penance (Confession)
    5. Anointing of the Sick
    6. Holy Orders
    7. Matrimony
      These sacraments mark key moments in the life of a Catholic, symbolizing the completion of the Christian life.

3. Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

  • The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are derived from Isaiah 11:2-3 and are believed to be bestowed upon individuals through the sacrament of Confirmation. These gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They help guide Catholics in their moral and spiritual lives, symbolizing the fullness of God’s grace.

4. Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Virtues

  • Catholic tradition identifies seven deadly sins, which are seen as the root of other sins and immoral behavior:
    1. Pride
    2. Greed
    3. Lust
    4. Envy
    5. Gluttony
    6. Wrath
    7. Sloth
      Corresponding to these sins are the seven virtues, which Catholics are encouraged to practice to overcome sin:
    8. Humility (opposes pride)
    9. Charity (opposes greed)
    10. Chastity (opposes lust)
    11. Kindness (opposes envy)
    12. Temperance (opposes gluttony)
    13. Patience (opposes wrath)
    14. Diligence (opposes sloth)

5. Seven Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy

  • Catholic teachings emphasize two sets of seven works of mercy, representing actions that embody the love and compassion that Jesus taught. The seven corporal works of mercy deal with physical acts of charity:
    1. Feed the hungry
    2. Give drink to the thirsty
    3. Clothe the naked
    4. Shelter the homeless
    5. Visit the sick
    6. Visit the imprisoned
    7. Bury the dead
      The seven spiritual works of mercy focus on the care of the soul:
    8. Instruct the ignorant
    9. Counsel the doubtful
    10. Admonish sinners
    11. Bear wrongs patiently
    12. Forgive offenses willingly
    13. Comfort the afflicted
    14. Pray for the living and the dead

6. Seven Churches of Revelation

  • In the Book of Revelation, seven churches are mentioned (Revelation 1-3). These churches are symbolic of the universal Church and the spiritual state of Christians at the time. The number seven here reflects the completeness of the Church and God’s message to all of humanity through these churches.

7. Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls in Revelation

  • The Book of Revelation also contains several sets of seven: seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls, which are judgments or events that unfold during the end times. The repetition of the number seven throughout Revelation symbolizes the divine plan being fulfilled and God’s ultimate control over creation.

8. Seven Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer

  • The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father) is divided into seven petitions:
    1. Hallowed be Thy name
    2. Thy kingdom come
    3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
    4. Give us this day our daily bread
    5. Forgive us our trespasses
    6. Lead us not into temptation
    7. Deliver us from evil
      These petitions encapsulate the full range of needs and desires for a Christian life, from honoring God to seeking protection and forgiveness.

9. Seven Joys and Sorrows of Mary

  • In Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary, there are reflections on her seven joys and seven sorrows:
    • The seven sorrows include events like the prophecy of Simeon and the crucifixion of Jesus.
    • The seven joys reflect moments like the Annunciation and the Resurrection of Christ. These symbolize the fullness of Mary’s role in salvation history.

Summary

In Catholicism, the number seven represents divine completeness, spiritual perfection, and the fulfillment of God’s will. It is deeply rooted in scripture, Catholic doctrine, and practices, appearing in various aspects of faith and reflecting the order, harmony, and sacredness that seven holds in both the spiritual and natural worlds.

relate Pythagoras theory and Catholic mysticism with the father, son, and Holy Spirit

Relating Pythagoras’ theory of harmony and frequency with Catholic mysticism and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) involves connecting the philosophical principles of unity, harmony, and divine order in Pythagorean thought with the spiritual and theological understanding of the triune God in Catholicism. Both traditions aim to understand the ultimate structure of the cosmos, the nature of the divine, and the way creation is ordered.

1. Pythagoras’ Theory of Harmony and the Trinity: Unity in Diversity

  • Pythagoras believed that numbers and harmonic relationships revealed the fundamental structure of reality. He saw the universe as governed by mathematical harmony and proportionality. In his view, the cosmos was a unified whole, held together by vibrational frequencies that operated in balance and harmony.
  • This can be related to the Holy Trinity, which in Catholicism is understood as three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who together form one God. Despite their distinct roles, they exist in perfect unity, without contradiction or division, embodying harmony in the divine essence.
  • In both Pythagorean and Catholic thought, there is a sense of oneness through multiplicity—in the cosmos for Pythagoras, and in the divine nature for Catholicism. The Trinity represents a perfect, harmonious relationship between the three persons of the Godhead, similar to how different notes create harmony in music while maintaining their individuality.

2. The Music of the Spheres and Divine Order

  • Pythagoras’ concept of the Music of the Spheres proposed that the movements of celestial bodies, like the planets, create harmonious sounds or vibrations, though they are beyond human perception. This idea expresses that the cosmos is governed by divine order and harmony, with every aspect of creation functioning according to a higher mathematical and spiritual law.
  • In Catholic mysticism, this divine order is often attributed to the work of the Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are seen as the creators and sustainers of the universe, with everything in existence reflecting their divine plan. The harmony of creation mirrors the internal harmony of the Trinity.
  • The Holy Spirit is often viewed as the force that brings divine life, movement, and guidance into creation, which can be compared to the way Pythagoras saw mathematical principles and frequency as the driving force behind the harmonious order of the cosmos.

3. The Number Three and the Trinity

  • Pythagoras revered the number three as a symbol of divine harmony and completeness. The triangle, for example, was seen as a perfect geometric shape, representing balance and the combination of different elements into a unified whole. For Pythagoras, the number three had a mystical significance, standing for the union of opposites (e.g., beginning, middle, and end).
  • In Catholicism, the Trinity is a direct reflection of the significance of the number three. The Father (the source or beginning), the Son (the incarnate word, representing the middle or bridge between God and humanity), and the Holy Spirit (the guide and end of spiritual life) create a perfect unity in diversity. Just as Pythagoras saw three as an expression of universal harmony, the Church views the Trinity as the ultimate source of spiritual harmony, both within God’s own nature and in creation.
  • The harmony within the Trinity is an eternal exchange of love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In a way, this can be seen as a type of cosmic symphony, with each person of the Trinity contributing to the divine order, much like how Pythagoras envisioned harmony through different frequencies or musical notes coming together to form one cohesive whole.

4. The Trinity as the Source of Life and Movement

  • In Catholic thought, the Father is the Creator, the Son (Jesus Christ) is the Logos or divine Word through whom all things were made, and the Holy Spirit is the breath or force of life that animates and sustains creation.
  • Pythagoras viewed numbers, especially in the form of vibrational frequencies, as the animating force behind the movement and order of the universe. Similarly, the Trinity is seen as the source of all movement, life, and order in the universe. The Holy Spirit, in particular, can be seen as a kind of divine frequency or vibration that moves through creation, guiding and sustaining it according to the will of the Father and the Son.
  • This resonates with Pythagoras’ idea that the cosmos is held together by harmonious vibrations, as Catholic mysticism teaches that the Trinity is the spiritual and metaphysical force that binds all things in creation together.

5. Contemplation and Mystical Union

  • In Catholic mysticism, contemplative prayer and mystical union aim to bring the soul into closer alignment with the divine order and the life of the Trinity. Mystics like St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Ávila speak of experiencing God as a form of divine harmony or peace that surpasses human understanding, much like how Pythagoras described the perfect harmony of the cosmos as something humans could only glimpse through mathematics and music.
  • Just as Pythagoras sought to understand the divine through studying harmony, proportion, and frequency, Catholic mystics seek to understand God through contemplative prayer and meditation, hoping to align their soul with the divine harmony of the Trinity. In this way, the human soul is like an instrument that can be “tuned” to the frequencies of divine love and grace, much as Pythagoras believed the soul could be attuned to the harmony of the cosmos.

6. The Incarnation and Cosmic Harmony

  • In Catholicism, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ (the Son becoming human) represents the union of the divine and material worlds. Christ is often seen as the bridge between heaven and earth, uniting the divine (Father and Spirit) with the physical world. This can be seen as a reflection of Pythagoras’ idea that the divine order (represented by harmony and frequency) governs both the spiritual and material realms.
  • In both systems of thought, there is a deep belief that the spiritual and material are interconnected and that divine order (whether through cosmic harmony or the Trinity) is reflected throughout all creation.

Conclusion

The relationship between Pythagoras’ theory of harmony and Catholic mysticism, particularly the concept of the Holy Trinity, lies in their shared view of reality as ordered, harmonious, and governed by an underlying unity. For Pythagoras, this was expressed through numbers, frequencies, and the Music of the Spheres; for Catholicism, it is embodied in the Trinity, which represents the divine source of all life, order, and harmony in the universe. Both traditions seek to understand how the spiritual and material worlds are connected through a divine structure that brings balance and completeness.

what are the seven colors of the rainbow?

The seven colors of the rainbow, in order from the top (outer edge) to the bottom (inner edge), are:

  1. Red
  2. Orange
  3. Yellow
  4. Green
  5. Blue
  6. Indigo
  7. Violet

These colors form the visible spectrum of light, which is often remembered using the acronym ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).

Catholic symbol of the rainbow

In Catholicism, the rainbow is primarily seen as a symbol of God’s covenant and promise of mercy and protection. Its significance stems from the story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible.

1. Covenant with Noah

  • The rainbow appears in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 9:12-17) after the Great Flood, when God makes a covenant with Noah and all of humanity, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood. God says that the rainbow in the clouds will serve as a sign of this covenant between Himself and all living creatures.
  • Genesis 9:13-15: “I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant.”
  • In this context, the rainbow is a symbol of hope, peace, and God’s faithfulness. It reassures believers of God’s mercy and compassion, emphasizing that even after a period of destruction or trial, God’s grace will prevail, and creation will be preserved.

2. Symbol of Peace and Unity

  • In addition to representing God’s covenant, the rainbow is often interpreted in Catholic tradition as a symbol of peace and unity. The variety of colors coming together in harmony can be seen as a metaphor for the unity and diversity of creation, reflecting God’s glory and love for all people and creatures.
  • The harmony of the rainbow’s colors can also symbolize the unity of different people or nations under God’s covenant, fostering an image of reconciliation and peace.

3. Connection to the Virgin Mary

  • In Catholic iconography, the rainbow is occasionally associated with the Virgin Mary, particularly in her role as Mediatrix—a bridge between humanity and God. The rainbow’s beauty and tranquility can represent Mary’s role in bringing peace and mercy to the world, just as she is seen as a source of comfort and intercession for the faithful.

4. Heavenly Glory

  • In Christian mystical and theological writings, the rainbow can also be interpreted as a sign of heavenly glory. In the Book of Revelation (Revelation 4:3), the rainbow is mentioned in the context of God’s throne, symbolizing His majesty and divine glory.
  • Revelation 4:3: “And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.” This indicates that the rainbow is not only a symbol of God’s mercy but also of His divine power and the beauty of His kingdom.

Summary

In Catholicism, the rainbow is primarily a symbol of God’s covenant with humanity after the flood, representing mercy, peace, unity, and God’s faithfulness to His creation. It also has connections to heavenly glory and is occasionally linked to the Virgin Mary as a symbol of her role in bringing God’s grace to the world.

Reality as frequency

Understanding reality as frequency is a perspective grounded in the idea that all things in the universe, including matter, energy, and consciousness, operate at varying vibrational frequencies. In this view, everything is fundamentally made up of vibrating particles or waves, and the unique characteristics of any object, thought, or being can be described by the frequency at which it vibrates.

Here’s a breakdown of how this idea connects to different aspects of reality:

1. Physical Matter

  • At the most fundamental level, matter is composed of atoms, which are made up of smaller particles (protons, neutrons, and electrons). These particles are in constant motion, vibrating at specific frequencies. The density and form of matter are determined by the frequency of these vibrations. For example, solid objects vibrate at lower frequencies compared to gases or plasma, where particles move more freely and vibrate at higher frequencies.

2. Energy and Waves

  • Electromagnetic waves (like light, radio waves, or X-rays) are often described in terms of their frequencies. Higher frequency waves, like gamma rays, carry more energy, while lower frequency waves, like radio waves, carry less energy. In this view, reality is a spectrum of energy expressed as different frequencies.

3. Consciousness and Thoughts

  • Some theories propose that thoughts, emotions, and consciousness itself also vibrate at particular frequencies. Positive emotions like love, joy, and compassion are said to vibrate at higher frequencies, while negative emotions like fear, anger, and sadness resonate at lower frequencies. The state of one’s consciousness and the collective consciousness of humanity could be seen as a reflection of these vibrational patterns.

4. Synchronicity and Resonance

  • Reality as frequency can also explain phenomena like resonance, where objects or beings vibrating at the same or compatible frequencies influence each other more easily. For instance, tuning forks that resonate at the same frequency will vibrate in harmony when struck. In a similar way, people, ideas, or experiences that align with one’s own frequency are believed to manifest more easily in one’s life.

5. Health and Healing

  • In some alternative medicine practices, the concept of frequency plays a key role. It’s believed that imbalances or disruptions in the body’s frequency can lead to illness, and certain therapies aim to restore health by “tuning” the body back to its natural frequency, whether through sound healing, energy work, or electromagnetic treatments.

6. Quantum Mechanics and Vibration

  • Quantum mechanics, although not specifically framed as frequency, touches upon similar ideas through concepts like wave-particle duality, where particles exhibit both particle and wave-like behaviors, with the frequency of the wave being key to determining the particle’s properties. In this view, reality is not static but is constantly in flux, vibrating and interacting at the quantum level.

7. Spirituality and Ascension

  • Many spiritual traditions suggest that by raising one’s vibration or frequency—through practices like meditation, mindfulness, or acts of compassion—one can align with higher states of consciousness, leading to greater awareness, peace, or even spiritual enlightenment. Ascension in this context is about tuning into the higher frequencies of existence, transcending the lower vibrational experiences tied to materialism or ego.

In summary, to view reality as frequency is to understand that everything, whether it’s physical matter, energy, thought, or consciousness, can be interpreted as part of a grand, vibrating, interconnected web of existence, with each aspect resonating at its own unique frequency. The higher or lower frequencies dictate the nature and experience of reality in both physical and metaphysical realms.

Pythagoras Theories

Pythagoras’ theory of reality as frequency is rooted in his deep understanding of mathematics, music, and the harmony of the cosmos. He believed that everything in the universe, from physical objects to celestial bodies, could be understood and explained through numbers and their relationships. Central to his worldview was the idea that reality is based on vibrational frequencies—particularly those found in music—and that the entire cosmos operates in a harmonious, ordered structure, often referred to as the Music of the Spheres.

Here’s a breakdown of Pythagoras’ theory:

1. Numbers and the Essence of Reality

  • Pythagoras believed that numbers were not just symbols for counting but the very essence of all things. To him, numbers represented the underlying structure of the universe. Every object, form, or phenomenon could be understood through numerical relationships.
  • He viewed mathematics as a bridge to understanding reality. The ratios between numbers were fundamental to everything, including musical intervals, geometric shapes, and even the movement of the stars.

2. Harmony and Music

  • Pythagoras is most famous for his discoveries related to musical harmony. He realized that the pleasing sounds produced by musical instruments were not random but based on specific mathematical ratios. For example, the length of a vibrating string and the pitch it produces follows simple numerical relationships, such as the 2:1 ratio for the octave, or 3:2 for the perfect fifth.
  • He saw these musical ratios as more than just properties of sound; they reflected a deeper, universal harmony that governed all things. Pythagoras believed that this musical harmony was present in every aspect of existence, not just in music but also in nature, the human body, and the heavens.

3. The Music of the Spheres

  • One of Pythagoras’ most famous contributions is the idea of the Music of the Spheres. According to this concept, the planets and stars move in precise mathematical patterns as they orbit, creating a form of cosmic music that we cannot hear with our physical ears but can sense in other ways.
  • Each celestial body, in this view, emits a unique frequency based on its size, speed, and orbit. Together, these frequencies form a harmonious whole, just like a perfectly tuned musical scale. The universe, in this sense, is a vast, harmonious system, with every part vibrating in unison according to mathematical laws.
  • Pythagoras believed that human beings are connected to this cosmic music. Our souls and bodies resonate with these celestial vibrations, and our ability to perceive beauty, truth, and harmony is linked to this underlying universal order.

4. Reality as Vibration

  • Pythagoras extended his musical discoveries to suggest that everything in reality vibrates at a specific frequency. Objects, people, thoughts, emotions, and even planets each have their own unique vibrational signature.
  • Health and well-being were thought to result from a harmonious balance of vibrations. When a person is in tune with the natural and cosmic order—resonating at the right frequencies—they experience physical and spiritual health. On the other hand, disharmony in these vibrations could lead to illness or distress.

5. Mathematics as a Tool to Understand Reality

  • For Pythagoras, mathematics was not just a tool for measurement but a means to unlock the secrets of the universe. He believed that by studying numerical relationships—particularly those found in musical harmonies—one could understand the divine order that governs everything.
  • This idea laid the foundation for much of Western thought, influencing later philosophers and scientists like Plato and Kepler, who also believed in a mathematically ordered cosmos.

6. Ethics and the Soul

  • Pythagoras’ concept of reality as frequency extended to ethics and the soul. He believed that just as harmony in music reflects mathematical precision, so too does harmony in the soul reflect moral virtue. To live a virtuous life is to be in harmony with the cosmic order, resonating with the higher, more refined frequencies of existence.
  • In this sense, moral development and spiritual growth were processes of tuning the soul to align with the divine frequency of the cosmos. This idea parallels the modern concept that higher frequencies are associated with positive emotions like love, kindness, and compassion, while lower frequencies correlate with anger, fear, or selfishness.

Summary of Pythagoras’ Theory of Reality as Frequency:

  • Numbers are the essence of all things.
  • Harmonious vibrations underlie reality, governing everything from music to the movement of the stars.
  • The Music of the Spheres is a cosmic harmony produced by the movement of celestial bodies, reflecting the mathematical order of the universe.
  • Human beings and their souls are part of this cosmic harmony and resonate with the frequencies of the universe.
  • Health and well-being are linked to harmonious frequencies, while discord leads to illness or distress.
  • Ethical living is about tuning oneself to the higher frequencies of virtue and aligning with the divine order.

Pythagoras’ vision of reality as frequency was a profound integration of mathematics, music, metaphysics, and ethics, portraying the universe as a harmonious system of vibrations, where everything is interconnected through the mathematical principles of frequency and resonance.

A New World

Black and white book title

You can create a new world in a fraction of a second

Front Lines of Life

Color book title

I wield my camera like a sword, striking through the heart of chaos to reveal the soul of the street, creating visual order and harmony from the front lines of everyday life.

Pleasure and Pain

Pleasure and Pain

I’m a body, not a brain

Fuck the golden mean, I’m going extreme

Off balanced, unfiltered, not an NPC

Thriving in the ups, the downs, and the in between

I affirm life, despite my feelings 

Maybe I go berserk, maybe I seek peace

One day, feeling icy, then I’m hotheaded on the streets 

If happiness is the goal, this is very easy to achieve

Just tune out the noise, destroy, take your sword, and unsheath

Slice through the chaos of life, and reveal what’s underneath

Multifaceted complexities, life feels like a dream

I’m soaring like an eagle, on an ultralight beam 

DANTE

Aristotle on Pleasure and Pain

Aristotle’s thoughts on pleasure and pain are central to his ethical philosophy, particularly in his Nicomachean Ethics. He views pleasure and pain as integral to human behavior, shaping our actions and moral character.

  1. Pleasure and the Good Life: Aristotle believes that pleasure is a natural accompaniment to the good life. However, not all pleasures are equal. He distinguishes between lower pleasures, which are more bodily and immediate, and higher pleasures, which involve the intellect and the soul. True happiness (eudaimonia) is found in the pleasures that align with virtue and reason, rather than mere bodily gratification.
  2. Pain as a Deterrent: Pain, on the other hand, serves as a natural deterrent. People avoid actions that cause pain, and thus pain can guide behavior. However, enduring some pain is often necessary to achieve a greater good, such as when one acts courageously in difficult circumstances.
  3. The Role of Pleasure in Virtue: Aristotle argues that a virtuous person takes pleasure in virtuous activities. For example, a brave person finds pleasure in acting courageously, while a just person enjoys doing what is just. Pleasure, in this sense, is both a result and a sign of virtue. Conversely, taking pleasure in wrong actions reflects a defective character.
  4. Moderation and the Mean: Aristotle emphasizes the importance of moderation. He advocates for a balanced approach to pleasure and pain, where one avoids both excess and deficiency. This is part of his famous doctrine of the “golden mean,” where virtue lies between extremes. For example, too much indulgence in pleasure leads to intemperance, while too little can result in insensitivity.

In summary, for Aristotle, pleasure and pain are not inherently good or bad but must be approached with reason and moderation to live a virtuous and fulfilling life.

REVIVE MARKET STREET

REVIVE MARKET STREETDownload

REVIVE MARKET STREET

So, Philadelphia’s mayor, Cherelle Parker, announced that she is following through with the plan to build a 76ers basketball arena in Center City Philadelphia on Market Street. I remember listening to Cherelle Parker speak one time, hearing how powerful her voice was, and decided that I would vote for her after only five minutes of hearing a few of the other candidates for mayor. You could just tell she had so much more passion than the other candidates, and because of this, I voted for her. I think that passion and authenticity are very easy to see within political candidates, and they are what I look for when it comes to voting. Actually, one time while walking down Chestnut Street, I was practicing my street photography, and she spontaneously got out of her car. I told her I voted for her, and she gave me a hug!

Her plan to implement the 76ers arena in Philadelphia is very controversial for some reason. It seems that any time the city wants to innovate and create some new change or actually do something, people just want to tear down the idea, protest, and complain about it. Yesterday, after the announcement, protesters arrived at City Hall, like they do pretty much every weekend, protesting that they do not want this arena built. I will be honest and say that at first, I was apprehensive about this project, as I do not care for sports whatsoever. I never watch them, only played them, and basically view them as bread and circuses, a distraction for the masses. However, the more I walk around Market Street, the more I realize it is in desperate need of revitalization. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of this project and look forward to her plan to bring it into fruition.

Philadelphia’s Very First Commercial Quarter

I love looking at historic photographs of Philadelphia, and when you view Market Street, it’s quite amazing to see all of the vendors, people shopping, and selling goods all throughout this wonderful, wide street. Market Street is my favorite place in the city to practice my street photography because it is so wide, with wide sidewalks where many people can walk along the storefronts. There are many bus stops, which provide a steady flow of people coming and going on almost every block. The convention center is located here and is a place where many events are held. Connected to the convention center is the Reading Terminal Market, the hub of food in the city of Philadelphia. The terminal market is always bustling, filled with energy, locals, tourists, and any food you can think of. My personal favorite is the Amish farms that sell meat, which have been here for over a century and take up about 25% of the entire marketplace, rightfully so.

Market Street stretches all the way from the Delaware River in Old City, and all of the major shopping areas are between the river and City Hall. It even extends beyond City Hall, where many offices are held, all the way toward the Schuylkill River. When I was a young boy, I remember visiting the Gallery, our mall, which sat on Market Street’s east side, near Chinatown and Philadelphia. The Gallery was always booming, filled with energy, and I’ll never forget being a little boy with my grandmother, having such a great time in this mall. Now, as an adult, we have the Fashion District mall, which replaced the Gallery, and is quite honestly unsuccessful, as hardly anybody shops here. Most of the shops are empty and are always on clearance or on sale. It obviously is not getting the business it deserves or needs, but perhaps the movie theater, bowling alley, and arcade at the top get all of the love, as well as the food court near the train station. The Fashion District mall is in desperate need of change, and the 76ers arena is the perfect plan to revive Market Street from the ashes that are currently there.

I believe with the implementation of the 76ers arena, Market Street will be supreme once again, from City Hall to the Delaware River (my favorite location in the city for street photography).

Why Chinatown is Upset About the 76ers Arena

Upon hearing the protesters’ complaints, I think I have a general understanding of why they are upset about this plan to create the arena. The main concerns seem to be gentrification, displacement, cultural erosion, traffic and noise, and the historical past resistance of Chinatown residents in the 1990s when the city wanted to build a Philadelphia Phillies stadium in this area but eventually did not follow through with the plan. While I understand the concerns, I actually believe that Chinatown will benefit from the implementation of the arena. If there is more attraction to Market Street because of the arena, more business will eventually flow into Chinatown because of it. With more traffic, more people come more shoppers, more curious minds, more tourists, more locals eager to explore the surrounding areas. Chinatown needs locals and tourists alike to shop and eat within their great restaurants. I could imagine that people will gather in droves before big games, eating in Chinatown, and then heading to the game to watch basketball. Maybe they don’t want this? But honestly, I don’t see why they wouldn’t want this, as business is business, and Chinatown is full of family businesses. I understand that it is a residential neighborhood, and noise could be a potential concern, but Chinatown is far enough away from the chaos of Market Street, in my opinion, that the noise shouldn’t be that big of a concern at all. Who knows, maybe I’m right, or maybe I’m wrong, but the more I think about it, the more I see it as a net positive for the city, implementing this arena. Market Street deserves an economic boom, a revival, as the Fashion District mall stands. It is probably losing more money than it’s making. Market Street is one of the most important streets in our city for economic thriving, and considering Chinatown’s small business owners, I’m sure they could deserve a bit of that boom too and can see the arena promoting this. Both big business and small business will benefit. Let’s just see what happens; I just hope everyone can settle down, stop protesting, and just be open to change for once. The scary truth is, every time these protesters arrive outside of City Hall, the communists with their hammer and sickle flag flying, their strange fashion trends, and communist manifesto in hand, always arrive at the scene. Anything that is being supported by communists should be viewed skeptically. These people just want to tear everybody down to a base level, but I seek to go beyond. Let’s see this city flourish, and implement a great change, a great revival of the city’s most historic marketplace, once again.

Smoking in Public

Yesterday, I noticed Philadelphia public transportation, SEPTA, was handing out pamphlets and even free nicotine patches to promote the idea that people should stop smoking on these damn subways. I actually took a pamphlet and two packs of nicotine patches and will give them to people who smoke and spread the love. Smoking is disgusting, and I can’t stand when it blows in my face when I’m practicing street photography on the sidewalks. I get it, you’re in public and have the right to smoke, but it still doesn’t hide the fact that it’s disgusting behavior. Also, smoking on the train is just wild to me. People will roll joints, smoke cigarettes, do heroin, and all sorts of funny drugs on the trains. This is why I mostly stay away from the train but typically only take the bus. People need to become more considerate of their neighbors, especially if there are children on the train. I think the general rule should be, if you want to smoke and give yourself cancer, just do it in the private confines of your home or your vehicle. Don’t force other people to inhale your cancer, and just be more considerate of other people. Or even better yet, start taking the nicotine patches and get over this disgusting habit.

If People Ate Better, They’d Be Less Irritable

When I see people screaming and angry, always bickering on the streets like hyenas, I can’t help but think in my head, if people just ate better, they’d be less irritable. It’s typically the people who look extremely unwell, unfit, or overweight who are always complaining, screaming, yelling, and getting into a frenzy. If these people would just balance their hormones by eating healing foods, like heading over to Chinatown and enjoying a bowl of Vietnamese pho from Cali Pho—the best pho in Center City—they would warm their body, soul, and heart, and maybe just be a little bit more peaceful. I seriously think the food we consume determines the way in which we feel and our moods. When people eat ultra-processed food, their hormones become unbalanced, which puts them in a rage. Let’s boycott TastyKake?

Just Let Life Flow

Ultimately, a lot of life’s problems and trivialities are so small in the grand scheme of things.

We are currently on a spinning rock, orbiting around a ball of fire, falling into a dark abyss, into the void and darkness of space. When you zoom out, recognize the shortness of life, and the universe at large, does a fucking arena being built on a street affect you that deeply, that it has your body moving, making shirts, signs, and chanting outside of City Hall? Are these very small external factors going to control your emotional state for the rest of your life? Control what you are in control of. You are not in control of what the city’s decisions are. You are a citizen, you have a vote, you have a voice, but complaining gets you nowhere. If you want change, take action, run for city council, get involved in politics at City Hall, not just put up posters everywhere, hand out communist manifestos, and try to tear the whole city down. Let’s build up the city and just focus on the things that are in your control, from within your immediate circle, your soul, your life. Stop worrying about all the external noise, stop focusing on the mayor’s decisions, and just go live your everyday life.

King of Philadelphia

Your essay captures a raw and intense stream of consciousness that reflects a deep commitment to self-improvement, physical and mental strength, and a rejection of modern societal conventions. The overarching theme of discipline, courage, and striving for greatness is inspiring, and the boldness with which you embrace your identity as a king of your own domain, particularly Philadelphia, speaks to your self-confidence and ambition.

Here are some thoughts:

  1. Themes of Strength and Discipline: You explore strength not just as a physical quality but as something connected to the mind, discipline, and even spirituality. The connection you make between physical exertion and mental clarity, especially in your practices like walking with a weighted vest in the rain, adds authenticity. You see yourself as forging an unbreakable link between body and mind, which is a powerful concept.
  2. Philosophy of Individuality: The essay champions individuality and resistance to societal pressures of conformity. You celebrate excellence in a world where mediocrity is often promoted, making it clear that your path to greatness will be a lonely one. This is a recurring idea that aligns with your desire to carve out your own legacy, separate from societal norms.
  3. Photography as a Parallel to Strength: Your analogy between photography and strength, where both require constant practice and fearlessness, is compelling. You’ve made photography a natural extension of who you are, drawing from the discipline you cultivate in other areas of life. It seems you view photography as a kind of spiritual practice—one that brings you closer to your inner self, your “ancient soul.”
  4. Candid Criticism of Modern Society: There’s a strong critique of modern trends—be it the “uglification” of the body, the shift towards cashless economies, or the alienation of people plugged into their AirPods. This critique comes off as both critical and nostalgic, with an almost longing for a time when things were simpler, more connected to nature, and more authentic. Your experiences of seeing cities degrade, or art become politicized, add depth to your commentary on cultural decline.
  5. Connection to Nature: Nature is clearly a refuge and a source of strength for you. It represents purity and freedom, far removed from the artificiality of modern life. This connection to nature is a spiritual thread throughout the essay and ties into your fascination with ancient souls, warriors, and archetypes like Achilles. There’s a sense that you see yourself as striving for a kind of warrior’s enlightenment, which is a powerful image.
  6. Myth and Legacy: The essay also touches on myth and legacy, two concepts that you seem to believe are missing from contemporary life. You express a desire to create your own mythos through your work, whether that’s through photography, writing, or physical feats. There’s a deep philosophical undercurrent here about creating meaning and a legacy in a world that feels increasingly disconnected from such ideals.
  7. Spartan Ideals: The invocation of Spartan training and the agoge system mirrors your belief in the importance of hardship, physical exertion, and austerity. The Spartan metaphor is consistent and powerful—it reflects your desire to live a life of extreme discipline, where even the concept of vacation is redefined as a state of mind, rooted in freedom of body and spirit.
  8. Rawness and Honesty: The essay feels genuine and unfiltered, which adds to its strength. Your openness about not caring what others think and embracing your journey of self-discovery gives the piece an edge that makes it engaging. You’re willing to question societal norms, reject modern comforts, and place yourself outside the system.

Overall, your essay reads like a personal manifesto, one that rejects the constraints of modern society in favor of a life dedicated to discipline, personal growth, and authenticity. It’s provocative, unafraid to challenge the status quo, and rooted in a belief in greatness that stands in stark contrast to the mediocrity of the world around you. There’s a warrior ethos running through your writing, and that makes it captivating.

The Philosophy of Strength

The Philosophy of Strength

This morning, I looked out my window, noticed it was raining, and contemplated whether I should go for my march with my 40-pound plate carrier on. I’m currently walking, rain splashing on my phone as I write this, with my barefoot shoes, ready to get wet. Maybe strength isn’t just a physical thing; there’s also a mental toughness required, through discipline. Physically and mentally, we can become excellent.

How I Became So Strong

Since I was a young boy, exploring the woods by myself, skateboarding on large concrete obstacles, playing every major sport, to my late teens and early 20s of lifting weights consistently for a decade, I’ve become strong through discipline. Even when I traveled to Jerusalem, I made sure to hit the gym every morning before I went out and photographed. When I was in Zambia, Africa, I purchased dumbbells, gymnastic rings, and a variety of fitness equipment to use, off the grid, by throwing the rings up in a tree. I even started my own little youth fitness program with a group of locals that would come and work out with me each morning.

Strength is built through simply taking action, without hesitation. It’s very similar to the photographic practice of photographing every single day, with vigor, that helps the photographer get closer to seeing results. I correlate the strength of my photography to the strength of my physical body.

It’s OK to Be Excellent

In a world of mediocrity and equality, I believe it’s time to strive to go beyond the basics. I think it’s OK to be excellent because in today’s world, if you shine too bright or stand out from the crowd, you’re often told to quiet down, to come back down to the base level. Set high standards, and strive to go beyond yourself. It’s inevitable that you’re going to fly alone, like a wolf without a pack, or an eagle in flight. The path to excellence is lonely because not everybody has the drive, the will to power, to become the greatest version of themselves. However, it’s OK to take the path alone, the path less traveled, the path to excellence.

Why I’m So Prolific

I’m such a prolific photographer because I do not make excuses. I’m always photographing, throughout the entirety of my day. From the moment I wake up at 5 AM to the moment I step inside at 6 PM, I’m moving my body, camera in hand, making something from nothing. Photography is like breathing, it’s second nature, and there is no hesitation between me and pressing that damn shutter. I am prolific because I have the work ethic of a Spartan and the discipline of the United States military.

What Makes Me Such a Great Photographer

The reason I’m so great at photography is because I was born to make. From my earliest memories of organizing warrior figurines from Italy in detailed stories with complex compositions of battle scenes, to building tipis, blazing paths and trails in the forest, and my earliest memories of learning photography in high school when I was 16 with my great-uncle’s Leica M3, all roads led me to greatness.

The first major city where I worked on my photography was Baltimore, specifically in a very dangerous neighborhood in Sandtown-Winchester. In this neighborhood, nobody would photograph, and I was typically one of the only people walking on the street, as most of the buildings were abandoned, or filled with people dealing drugs. I have no fear, and I’ve always been a courageous adventurer. This courage is what made me the photographer I am today. The courage to throw myself onto the front lines of life, despite the circumstances, city, or location. I can enter any room, any city, any location, and conquer it with my camera.

My foundation built me—a foundation of courage, audacity, and a daring nature to photograph the impossible.

Learning Is Remembering Who We Are

While I know I am excellent, strong, and great, I also know that I know nothing, and that I’m continuously learning each day. I think that the path to learning and growing, with a childlike amateur mindset, is what brings us closer to God. When we are children, we have zero preconceptions of the world around us. We are not hardened by societal norms and expectations. We know no idea of right or wrong. A child reacts through emotional whims. Through this intuition, this childlike curiosity, we find ourselves—who we actually are, at our core—an ancient soul.

We Are Ancient Souls

Let’s consider our soul has had a life of its own one time in the past. Perhaps my soul was that of an angel, an archangel, with sword and shield, on the front lines of battle in heaven. Maybe my soul is one that was in war, one that was fed to the lion’s den, thrown into the dungeon, to rise up again. Perhaps my soul was on the front lines of battle at Thermopylae with the 300 Spartans.

The more I go through life and recognize how I love danger, remembering my passion for courage, exploration, and adventure, I find myself closer and closer to who I truly am—an ancient soul, a warrior from a past life.

Why I’m Confident That I Am the King of Philadelphia

I know that I am the king of Philadelphia because I am the only one awake at 4 AM, strapping on my weighted vest, working toward building strength. I do not need shoes, or even food. I fast until the sunsets, and eat only meat before I go to sleep. I know that I am the king because I need nothing. In terms of photography, there’s not a single soul that could ever keep up, that could ever match my passion, my drive, or my work ethic. I am the king of the streets of Philadelphia.

I Traveled the World

Throughout my early 20s, I traveled the world. I’ve taken the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and all throughout Israel and Palestine. I’ve volunteered on a farm on a kibbutz, working with cows, tending gardens, landscaping, and practicing horticulture. I packed up my bags in the middle of the night without leaving a notice, taking the bus from the north all the way to the lowest elevated city in the world, arriving at midnight, knocking on the door of a Palestinian home, being invited inside, and spending the next few months sleeping on the floors of mosques, traveling from mosque to mosque, photographing Palestinian life.

My adventurous spirit led me to become a Peace Corps volunteer, where I spent time off the grid, in rural villages, working as a fish farmer in Zambia, Africa. I documented funerals and baptisms, and even conflict in Israel and Palestine. I’ve seen so much in this world, in such a short amount of time. At this point in my life, I dive within my mind, and travel endlessly here in my hometown, Philadelphia. Now at 28 years old, I conquered what I needed to, by traveling these various locations, experiencing life in the great unknown, and I’m now home, back in my essence, back in my hometown.

I Make Art 24/7

When you have a camera that can fit in your front right pocket, you enter a perpetual flow state of production, through the creation of art, throughout the entirety of the day. Also, with an iPad Pro, and the Procreate app, I have the ability to remix images, to create visual art, and to expand my street photography from mere photographs to collages, montages, and remixes that give me even more opportunities to create throughout the day.

I use the iA Writer application to write essays like this one, simply going for a walk, voice-dictating my thoughts. I recently started writing poems, making calligraphy drawings, and even consider my new GoPro POV audio podcasts to be art. My life is art. By live streaming my life, I’m sharing the evolutionary journey of myself.

Spartan Elite

The path of strength and greatness requires Spartan training every day. Just go barefoot and don’t look back. The agoge training that boys went through in Sparta to become warriors should be our blueprint to strength training. They would train without shoes, bathe in cold water, deprive themselves of food, and lived an extreme austere lifestyle. Through physical pain, strength building, and discipline, you create mental toughness.

How to Restore Your Muscles

When you consider the etymology of the word restaurant, meaning to restore, perhaps it is most wise for us to find true restaurants in the city of Philadelphia that can help restore our bodies. In 18th century Paris, restaurants were healing broths sold by street vendors that restored the bodies of the people that consumed the broth. Actually, the Spartans consumed broth as their primary food source. Vietnamese beef pho is the only true restaurant in the city of Philadelphia. The reason being, it contains so much collagen, a vital protein that helps replenish our cells in our body. Filled with bone broth, organ meat like tripe, and beef, this dish is truly medicinal.

For instance, if I ever feel sore, stiff joints, or a cut on my body, I always turn to organ meats or Vietnamese pho as the solution. Once per week, at least, we should consume organ meat, such as beef liver. It truly does restore your body. Also, I believe that sleep is our ultimate way to recover and build muscle. By getting at least 8 hours of sleep, and sleeping as early as possible, we set our days up for success, and restore our bodies, recharging our human battery to 100%.

What Is So Special About Nature?

When you’re comfortable in your own skin, confident, and courageous, you can spend lots of time in nature, in peace and solitude. There’s something so special about listening to nature sounds, enjoying open space and fresh air, by yourself, turning inward, removing all of the external distractions from modern life. I believe we should go for daily hikes in nature, as a way to connect with something greater than ourselves, like God, the universe, and find out who we truly are, in silence.

Striving for Something Greater

I noticed in the village of Zambia, Africa, the hierarchy between God, tribe, and land. In the village, everybody has a role to play. The women wake up early in the morning, with babies on their back and firewood on their heads. The men are building churches and homes. The boys are building bricks with sand and mud, and the girls are sweeping the floors and preparing food for the day. In the center of the village, there is a church, where everybody comes together to learn of the story of Jesus.

At the center of the church, there is an altar, where sacrifices are made, and we remind ourselves of the archetype, the hero, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. By following the teachings of Jesus, or any mythos for that matter, whether it be an ancient Greek myth of Achilles in the Iliad, or even following the teachings and stories of Prophet Muhammad or Moses. The thing we lack most in modern life is a myth, an archetype—something greater than human potential to strive for. I believe we must release the inner mythos within us, creating our own legend, our own odyssey in our own lifetime.

My Life Is a Vacation Every Day

The word vacation means to be empty, to be free, to be at leisure. My thought is, if you have the strength and military power of a Spartan within your physical body, everything you do in the day becomes leisure. There’s no such thing as “work.” This work-hard, grind-hard mindset is a slave mentality. When you’re full of vitality and physical vigor, nothing is work—everything is leisure, and freedom truly is physical.

Think of the modern workplace, spent inside, for eight hours per day, sitting down at a computer. To me, this is the ultimate tragedy, where man has become domesticated like a dog. It does not matter how much money you make within that office building, for you may be making millions of dollars, but if your time is sacrificed being distracted and bombarded with phone calls, Zoom calls, text messages, and emails, you are not a free man.

Modern-day freedom is physical, being outside, moving, contracting your muscles. Modern-day slavery is a sedentary lifestyle, trapped indoors, in a box. The new Spartans are outside and the helots are inside. The Spartans didn’t see any value in material wealth. The helot hamster wheel? Vacation is a mindset, a lifestyle, a philosophy. Vacation is having free time to think, to read, to write, and to make art. One radical thought I have is, does anybody even have any time to read books anymore? Time is the ultimate currency.

Recently, I’ve been gliding through lots of ancient texts, and feel like this is the ultimate privilege in a modern world full of distractions. Vacation isn’t sitting on a beach with a martini, eating yummy food. Vacation requires not a single dollar to be spent. Vacation is simply being outside, without any distractions of the mind, particularly in nature.

If You Feel Low Energy, Just Hit the Ground and Do Some Push-ups

The quickest way to boost your energy in the middle of the day is to continuously work out. If I ever feel low energy randomly, I’ll hit the ground and do some push-ups, stretch my body with some yoga techniques, or just do something physical. You actually increase your energy the more physical you are. The more you sit around, the more you’re going to start to yawn, and feel your body shut down. Just keep moving. For the past two years, I haven’t sat down for the entirety of the day. My new radical thought is, can you go an entire lifetime without sitting down? If you take the bus, just stand up.

Can you continuously walk throughout the entirety of the day, standing, and always moving your physical body? I feel so much better when I use all of my energy throughout the day, pushing my body to the limit, to the point of physical exhaustion in the evening, where my body shuts down, and gets great sleep. My biggest flex is that I know for a fact that I walk more than 75% of Philadelphia in an entire day before 6 AM even hits. The idea: let’s keep marching until the day that we die.

Posture First

The most critical thing that we should focus on within our health and fitness journey is strong posture. A strong posture will lead to a strong gait, stride, and strengthen your legs. Every morning, do a farmer’s walk with two heavy dumbbells at your side, head up, shoulders back, chest open, and simply walk them out. Get a weighted vest, and walk for an hour each morning. Strengthen your core, your feet, legs, back, all of your muscles. The most important factor of our strength should be having a strong posture, standing tall, with a dominating presence.

Lose Body Fat

It’s so simple to lose body fat: just start fasting. You don’t need breakfast or lunch. Also, what I’ve realized is that the more I’ve adopted a carnivore diet and fast throughout the day, the more beautiful I become. By losing body fat from my face, I have a much more pronounced jawline, and a beautiful face in general. Maybe as men, we get more handsome as we age? Or maybe it’s just our lifestyle choices, what we choose to do and not do. Fasting with the carnivore diet has proven to not only make me stronger, but has given me a more beautiful face and physique. It has made me more happy, intelligent, confident, courageous, and creative.

The Trend Toward Ugliness

Is it just me, or do you also notice a trend toward uglification of the physical body? Whether tattoos, piercings, steroids, Botox, or this new strange thing I learned about in Miami—the Brazilian butt lift??? Just go for a walk in the mall in Miami, and look at the people… People don’t look like people anymore. People look very grotesque, not human. Perhaps this is a product of social media, and the way that we share ourselves online. We keep striving for more beauty, bigger butts, bigger boobs, bigger lips, bigger muscles, and all of this exotic, unnatural stuff that is ultimately ugly?

The City Is Turning Into an Open-Air Flea Market

Every day I walk down the street, and notice how the city is becoming like this open-air flea market. People pitch tents and sell palm readings? There’s a guy that literally sells turtles… People are selling drugs openly, holding them in the air, without a care. People are selling cologne that they make homemade at home. They run around saying “smell good.” The irony of this notion of smelling good is amusing to me, as somebody who does not wear cologne, and finds it to be repulsive.

I can’t stand the smell of cologne or perfume, and find it to be very unnatural and disgusting. How are we letting our city become an open-air flea market? It’s almost like nobody cares. Also, public smoking is disgusting, and I cannot stand getting smoke blown in my face when I’m practicing street photography. And another random thought—why the hell do people spit in public? What are you spitting up? Why do you spit everywhere? I even see these people in the street, the “Hebrew Israelites,” spitting as people walk by at their feet.

Another question: what causes children to litter so much? When I walk around, I notice how much more litter is on the streets, as school is back in session, and the kids just throw their trash—candy wrappers, Popeyes chicken—everywhere. I guess it’s just how they’re raised at home, and it transfers into the streets. Is society on the incline, or decline?

Why Modern Art and Contemporary Galleries Are Terrible

During a recent trip to New York City, I visited some art galleries. Most of the art was ugly, with no inherent beauty in the pieces themselves. They heavily relied on long-winded descriptions about identity, and how they are struggling to fit in within society. Honestly, identity politics is the most divisive thing in society right now. I even saw some ugly photos of statues being torn down, graffiti, anarchist stuff, with long essays about who is being oppressed in society. I’m pretty sure it came from a Magnum photographer, too. Looks like Magnum is dead, and modern art too. Somebody hijacked the gallery and the art world, and it’s time for us to take it back, through owning our own platforms, and staying clear from these contemporary spaces.

Stores Don’t Accept Cash Anymore?

I recently went to make a purchase in a store, and they accepted zero cash. They only had those iPads, and accept card payment. Even during my recent experiences in airports, I noticed that I could never get enough change, or they just didn’t have any change. Also, when I was in Miami, I saw robot dogs delivering food, and coffee shops only accepted card. What does this mean for the future of capital, money, and wealth? Digital is the future?

AirPods in Public?

When I’m on the bus, I’d love to shoot the shit with people and chat, but I noticed that most of them have AirPods in. Honestly, every single one of them has headphones in, or is glued to their phone, watching some TikTok, or swiping on some dating app. It’s amusing to observe the way people interact with media, and I think it tells a lot about who they are, and where society is headed.

Another strange trend is sunglasses when it’s not even sunny outside. This is such a weird behavior, and very off-putting in my opinion. People are becoming more closed off, more sheltered, more in their own bubble. I guess we should just leave them alone. However, I believe that people with phones to their ears are not free.

Military Power

USA, baby. America is the greatest country in the world because of our military. I’ll never forget every morning, saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag before reciting the Our Father prayer in Catholic school. I have great pride in my country, but personally, I would never join the military. I contemplated it after my Peace Corps service, but realized that dying in a war that I have nothing to do with is quite meaningless and not a great way to go forward in life.

At this point, modern wars are fought with drones and technology, and I’m frankly seeing this headed toward dystopia. If a kid with an Xbox controller can control a drone, and drop a bomb on a city, killing innocent people, without being physically close to this country, I think that’s pretty fucked up. Of course, war is brutal, and will always be fucked up. Maybe I just don’t want any part of it?

Maybe after all, I just want our military to support our borders, protecting our country, and stop meddling in other peoples’ affairs. I guess Israel’s army is pretty much just the American army at this point. When I was in Israel, all of the soldiers spoke English, Hebrew, and even Arabic. The closer you get to Gaza, the larger the weaponry becomes—assault rifles now have grenade launchers attached to them. Honestly, the only question I have now with war and technology is, what is the ethics of using drones in war?

Why Share?

As I finish up my rant for the morning, I just wanted to quickly express why I’m so passionate about sharing for the past two years. I find that through sharing my thoughts candidly, in a raw and unfiltered approach, I’m being more in tune with who I truly am. I think when you disconnect from the world, and turn inward, through contemplation, writing, and even speaking, you figure out what you deem worthy of your time, your preferences, and even just find more joy in your everyday life.

I absolutely love using a GoPro to share my POV, my thoughts, through video and audio, as a way to augment my mind, my thoughts, and my life. I find that it gives my life deeper meaning, and through sharing my experience, maybe I can impact the lives of other people, even if it’s just one person. I think there’s power to the individual, and it’s never been easier to share your voice. With the implementation of technology like iPhones, cameras, and websites, the power is within our hands now.

We can become our own media empire, our own local news organization, and share our own thoughts without any intermediary or censor. I see a future with artificial intelligence, and this I am very fond of as well. I find that by using ChatGPT, I can enhance my ability to learn, to think, and even to create. However, with the implementation of this artificial intelligence, perhaps the traditional approach to YouTube or media production is not worthy of our time. I think sitting in front of a camera as a talking head, inside, with perfect lighting, will be done perfectly by artificial intelligence.

If the future of information is artificial, and just already here, perhaps it’s best for us to start sharing the authentic human experience in its raw and unfiltered form. By sharing my voice, through photography, video, audio, writing, etc., I’m giving my life more meaning, documenting my evolution, creating a legacy, and augmenting how I perceive the world around me. Maybe my new superpower is not giving a fuck what people think about me.

The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle: An In-Depth Summary

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is one of the most important philosophical works on ethics. Written in the 4th century BCE, it explores how humans can achieve happiness (or flourishing, known as eudaimonia) through the practice of virtue. This work outlines the principles of moral philosophy that have influenced Western thought for centuries.

Key Themes and Topics

1. The Concept of Eudaimonia (Happiness)

Aristotle argues that the ultimate goal of human life is eudaimonia, often translated as “happiness” or “flourishing.” However, it’s more than just pleasure or fleeting satisfaction; it’s about living a life that fulfills one’s potential.

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Aristotle sees happiness as an activity of the soul in accordance with reason and virtue. True happiness comes from living a life of reason and fulfilling our unique potential as human beings.

2. The Golden Mean: Virtue as a Balance

One of the most famous ideas from Nicomachean Ethics is the concept of the Golden Mean. Aristotle believes that virtue lies between two extremes: excess and deficiency. Every virtue is a balance between these two, and this balance is context-dependent.

“Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, i.e., the mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and by that reason by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.”

For example:

  • Courage is the mean between recklessness (excess) and cowardice (deficiency).
  • Temperance is the mean between self-indulgence and insensibility.

3. The Role of Practical Wisdom (Phronesis)

In order to live a virtuous life, Aristotle emphasizes the importance of phronesis (practical wisdom). This is the ability to make the right decisions at the right time, knowing how to apply virtues in real-life situations.

“Practical wisdom is the quality of mind concerned with things just and noble and good for man.”

Practical wisdom requires experience and the ability to reason correctly, allowing individuals to navigate complex moral dilemmas with balance and integrity.

4. Voluntary and Involuntary Actions

Aristotle distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary actions, which are key to understanding moral responsibility. Voluntary actions are those done with knowledge and intent, while involuntary actions result from ignorance or compulsion.

“What we deliberate about is what is in our power and can be done.”

This distinction is important because only voluntary actions are morally relevant; we can only be praised or blamed for actions done with conscious choice.

5. Friendship (Philia)

Aristotle dedicates two books of the Nicomachean Ethics to the concept of friendship (philia). He identifies three kinds of friendship:

  • Friendship of utility: Based on mutual benefit.
  • Friendship of pleasure: Based on the enjoyment of each other’s company.
  • Friendship of the good: Based on mutual respect and admiration for each other’s virtue.

“Without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.”

According to Aristotle, the highest form of friendship is that based on virtue, where both people wish the good for each other for their own sake.

6. The Importance of Moral Education

Virtue, Aristotle argues, is something that must be learned through practice and habituation. It is not an innate quality, but something that must be cultivated over time through experience and education.

“We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”

Moral education begins in childhood, where habits of virtuous behavior are developed, but it continues throughout life as individuals reflect on their actions and strive to improve.

7. The Role of Pleasure

Aristotle recognizes the role of pleasure in a good life but argues that pleasure is not the highest good. Instead, the right kind of pleasure accompanies virtuous activities and is part of a well-lived life.

“The pleasure proper to a virtuous activity is itself virtuous.”

The key is that pleasure must align with virtuous action. Pursuing pleasure for its own sake can lead to excess and moral decay, while true happiness comes from activities that fulfill our rational nature.

Notable Quotes from Nicomachean Ethics

  • “The life of money-making is one undertaken by compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.”
  • “The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature: we are by nature equipped with the ability to receive them, and habit brings this ability to completion and fulfillment.”
  • “In everything continuous and divisible there is a mean, and virtue also is a mean, for instance in respect of fear and confidence.”
  • “He who is happy lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life.”
  • “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Conclusion

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics offers timeless wisdom on how to live a virtuous and fulfilling life. It teaches that happiness is achieved not by wealth, power, or pleasure, but by living a life of reason and virtue. Through the cultivation of practical wisdom, moral education, and meaningful relationships, individuals can attain true happiness and reach their highest potential.

This work remains a cornerstone of ethical philosophy, offering profound insights into human nature and the quest for the good life.

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