On smoking

I started smoking cigarettes when I was 15. Stupid move, would not recommend. But it was 100% the cooler option. Why would I choose not to be a brooding, dissatisfied youth, cigarette perched in the corner of his mouth? Children are the fucking stupidest.

I’ve tried to quit many times over the years. Every instance, a depiction of my weakening power of will. I rationalize - “I like the time to be pensieve, and think about the universe”. I managed to quit for a month a few times, but always managed to break eventually - “I feel so healthy now, but come on, I’m having a great night, the alcohol is flowing, let’s just enjoy the cigarette and celebrate the fact that I can, in fact quit, if I really choose to. I can always quit again tomorrow if I feel so strongly about this whole business.”

I swapped over to vaping in 2019. It was evidently healthier, then evidently not. It’s hard to trust science in the ‘post truth’ era.

Vladimir Putin must have led an interesting life. He was a spy, and now he’s one of the most powerful men on the planet. Stories that include Atilla the Hun and Napolean will likely mention him as well, as one of history’s more nimbler anti-heroes. A legacy might even be all he craves, now having accomplished so much in his time. How else do you conquer death than by leaving behind a wonderful tale for you descendants to gawk upon.

He might end up being the human who ends the Earth, but somehow, I doubt it. I predict that privilege will belong to one of the Americans. Good god what if it ends up belonging to a South African emigrant. I remember weeping when I first heard Obama’s acceptance speech. ‘Yes We Can’. I remember sympathizing with their plight after 9/11. What a stupid thing to do, invade Iraq.

America is a gorgeous tree. I write on a technological marvel gifted to us from its branches. But boy, do her thorns prick.

Coming back to Putin. He’s about to be interviewed soon. It’ll likely be the internet’s next big thing. The boys on each side will fight to the death to ensure their side prevails. All major judgments will be made privately. The interviewer will either be too soft, or perfect, depending upon who is viewing.

If I could pick a few questions to ask him:

What was his life like growing up? What was the city like, what was available in the market, what was happiness to him as a child? How does market availability differ in his country today? Does he think technological advancement driven by a free market is a valuable economic tool?

How did the space race impact him growing up?

I suppose the big revelation will be that he agreed to a Peace accord with the Ukrainians that was later scarpered. That might be enough to bring down the current administration in the US. God knows if he is interested in the alternatives, but one mustn’t put it past an Anti-Hero to be absolutely capable.