Hello everybody! I don’t know about you but I had a fantastic long weekend and I am ready to get back to it! I feel like this morning I could run from one end of the united states to the next. All I need to do is replace myself with a robot version of me and that’s a very possible reality. Maybe I already have. Anyways, dear reader, I hope you’re doing ok and that you’re excited for some barrels of fun. We have the great Joaquin Feldman with an awesome article today, big shout out to him. Now,
Henry Proverb 1/19/24:
“Only the creature made of stones will leave the stones unturned. For he understands where they have been.”
Quote of the Day 1/19/24:
“It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.” - Roy Scheider, Jaws (1975)
Song of the Day:
This is one of the most classic Henry songs of all time. I would just randomly find songs on twitter in like 2018/2019 and I had never heard stuff like this. Its so awesome, its just such a banger song, give it a listen.
Hendoh Recommends:
Midnight Cowboy (1969) - I watched this over the weekend and man, this movie is incredible. While Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman are pretty bad people they are both crazy good in this movie and it is worth watching just for their performances alone. This movie is the origin of the line, “Ay I’m Walkin here!” And if that’s not enough to convince you to watch it I don’t know what is. Also its where that song Everybody’s Talkin’ is from. But yeah its just so cool that this movie was rated X and it still won best picture. Please watch.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
“The Art of Teching That Shit” - by Joaquin Feldman
Let’s say you just got home from school, and you’ve been wanting to watch your favorite show. Living is stressful - you blow through a few episodes, and all the sudden it’s 7pm. Oh shit. You have a test tomorrow that you haven’t studied for. You may not even realize it, but you’ve entered into the state of Teching That Shit.
You may be asking, “what the hell does that even mean?” Well, I ask that you bare with me, and hopefully we’ll figure it out together.
In general, Teching That Shit is finding a nifty way of figuring out your life when you are put in a precarious position, perhaps against all odds. Now, why is this very specific scenario ascribed the name ‘Teching That Shit?’
Well, it comes from this Superman meme, in which Superman’s dad refuses to be saved from a tornado by his superhuman son; instead opting to figure it out by teching that shit. Of course, the humor comes from the fact that it makes no sense for Jonathan Kent to take a roundabout way of surviving when he can be saved in a few seconds by his son, Superman. While the meme is undoubtedly stupid, I think the phrase reflects on the human condition.
Teching That Shit reflects the fire of the human spirit that can never be put out. No matter what life throws at us, we have the gift of adaptability, and even if that adaptation isn’t perfect, that’s ok. Things never go the way the elaborate map in our head plans out. Teching That Shit is a way of appreciating the chaos that constantly wrecks our order. Teching That Shit is an open recognition that maybe the inexplicable way things go down don't have to be understood. Maybe that map in our heads is like a Pac-Man stage, filled with tricky corners and ending up right where you started.
To take the opening example, you are left with maybe 3-4 hours to study, and likely a load of stress. Let’s say you do your best to bring things back - you knock out a few hours of your best studying while still getting to bed at a reasonable time. From frantically scouring through your bag to find the stuff you need to study, to lying down in bed when it’s all over, I think it’s important to appreciate yourself. Maybe you didn’t get everything done in the most optimal way, and maybe you aren’t fully prepared for the test. But guess what? You just adapted in a short amount of time, and did everything you could given your circumstances. You couldn’t change the fact that you watched your favorite show. There’s no need to be ashamed of that.
So, do me a favor. If you’ve ever gone up against life head on and tried your best to come out on top, pat yourself on the back. Be proud. Tell yourself that you teched that shit.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
“The art of Shakespeare & the importance of injecting drama into everyday life” - by Hendoh
Life can be boring. It can be cruel and numbing. But it doesn’t always have to be. I would argue that one of the greatest ways of making things interesting actually comes from one of the artists most commonly labeled as boring.
That’s right, I’m talking none other than William Shakespeare. When teachers force Shakespeare onto students, it comes across as nerd shit that only old english teachers like. But here’s the thing. Here’s the frickin thing! Shakespeare is cool actually, I regret to inform you.
First off, I would like to make the point that in some ways, Shakespeare is not too different from a Transformers movie or a cool blockbuster. This is because the works of Shakespeare are meant to be populist entertainment and were enjoyed by the common folk. They feature death and love and funny shit and just surface level stuff that anyone can really enjoy or at least just appreciate.
My favorite play, Macbeth, is all about a king going so crazy because of a witches prophecy that he starts killing everybody! What could be cooler than that?
Now, its perfectly understandable that, for most people, the barrier to enjoying all of this is the odd dialogue where half the time you have no idea what they’re saying.
And I do get that, because I have a lot of trouble understanding that too. But it’s kind of like Tenet. You don’t really have to understand it completely, because you feel the emotionality of the lines and that’s what’s most important. And then when you do go break it down and understand the word play and what’s being said, its like…mind blown!!!! Wowie Zowie.
The moment that I realized Shakespeare dialogue is very cool was last year when I was chilling in Mr. Therrien’s class and he was like, “You guys know that nobody talked like this back in Shakespeares time.” And I was like…’hold up that’s crazy’. Because then you really understand why Shakespeare is so good. The dialogue is meant to be a heightened form of speech and play up the fact that they are in this is intensely dramatic theater removed from reality.
And that’s why Shakespeare is awesome because its like you’re existing outside of normal reality and going into a cooler one that is more intensely dramatic than real life.
Although it can be cool to go really grounded and make art seem real. I think I prefer it when its like…this is everything crazy dialed to 11 and none of this would ever happen in normal life.
And that’s why i’m thinking that we gotta bring this kind of dramatic flair to other art out there and even our everyday life.
When channeling Shakespeare, you feel like the spirit of an old king is inhabiting you and you are portraying a small piece of the profound human struggle felt by all.
It makes the world feel so grand and alive and like at any moment you could step out onto center stage and deliver a master soliloquy.
The next time you are down, imagine that you are Hamlet, holding the skull of your childhood friend, and contemplating the age old questions of life and death.
First, you gotta go, ‘wow that’s cool as hell.’ But then think how can you apply that kind of energy to what’s going on around you. Even if it just provides you with the energy and resolve to stand up and read proverbs out really dramatically to your AP World class. Then its worth it. If we are not having some fun with our lives, then I think we lost the game and this is such an easy way to do it.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
First off I would like to thank Dante Barutta and Max Kaya for giving me the inspiration for writing that last piece. I just launched into a whole monologue and then Dante was like, ‘this should be in the newsletter’ And I was like ‘no way you’re right.’ So big shoutout. If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please share with a friend and thanks so much for reading into week 2!
Hendoh out.