Human Insignificance

if you sum up all of the energy expanded by humans in all of history, it would probably not equal the amount of energy expended by the sun in 1 second. this just shows how insignificant anything that happens on this planet really is in the large scheme of things.

Stupid starbucks daytrader guy

people's stupidity never ceases to surprise me. i am sitting in starbucks writing stuff for my movie, and this guy and another guy are talking about stocks. they are clearly daytrading, thinking they can come up with some sort of system to win at stocks. so i ask him:

me:you trade stocks? 
him:yes
me: how long u been doing it? 
him: several years
me: whats your annual return?
him: i don't know.
me: you don't know? you trade stocks for a living and you don't know how much money you make?
well, if i make 1% a day, that is 250% a year (his exact words!)
me: you know the most successful hedge fund manager is soros and he only made about 40% a year
him: well, that's your opinion (annoyed, goes back to talking)

throughout the conversation, he gives me a look of a professor talking to a kid.

Facebook is a bragging machine

facebook has some useful functions, but it's main one is to satisfy people's insatiable appetite to show off and brag about things to each other. it's the same principle behind bmw and mercedes cars, expensive purses, huge houses. these objects, for the most part, serve not too much practical purpose, but are used as "showing off" tools. "bragging" in humans also satisfies the need and want to "put down" fellow humans, to establish that "i am better than you", "i have more friends than you", etc. it's really a crowd, high school mentality that serves to cure the inferiority complex that most people in america possess. they constantly have to prove to themselves that they are not "losers".

i personally conscientiously try not to show off, but have to confess that the urge is often there and i have to fight it

The culture of - look at all these people who have it better than you

i am tired of constantly being bombarded with images/stories of people who have it better than me. it's seriously what's wrong with humanity. people/tv/internet are obsessed with celebrities, sports figures, millionaires, and guess what, all this is making 99% of the world feel bad! and perpetuates feelings of inadequacy, depression, anger, hatred, you name it.

instead of thinking - why am i not a millionaire/pro athlete/celebrity, how about thinking - i am so happy i am not a bum, criminal, in jail, needing a kidney, etc etc etc. percentagewise, you are much more likely to be on the bottom, then you are on top, yet culture does not continuously make an impact on that.

if you look at tv - what do they show? constant shows about rich people who have everything - housewives, kardashians, musicians, dancing with the stars,etcetc. what they rarely show? shows about drug addicts, unemployed, uneducated, people at the bottom.

that's why i like watching russian news. they are not obsessed with BS, they show regular people, orphanages, bums, accidents, european news, etc, things that make me feel good about what i have.