Jonas Eriksson's Blog: Jonaswrites.com - official site of author and writer Jonas Eriksson, page 4

My meeting with Rafael Nadal

Rafa, Aiden and myself at Mercedes Cup in Germany. Pretty awesome moment. Nadal is such an inspiration for the sport. I hope many youngsters, including Aiden, learns from his attitude.

Just some stuff you should see

Here are a few things I watched recently that I really recommend. I’m going to describe them in one sentence so you have more time to watch them instead of reading my incoherent blog posts.

Louis C.K – Oh My God. The best stand-up comedian of all time (highly personal point-of-view) in top LOL form.

Whiplash – Great new film with amazing jazz music about a young talented drummer and his evil teacher.

True Detective – If you want to see fine acting and writing combined in a series that moves slowly, but purposely forward to create some amazing intense scenes – this is the one.

Episodes – Everyone needs to laugh and the series Episodes give you some true haha-moments and is just all over feel-good.

Birdman – Weird but awesome with spellbinding acting and camera work.

Rudderless – Interesting drama about a man who tries to get over his son’s guilt-ridden death through playing his songs.

Need to wake up earlier

I’ve always liked mornings. The dawn of a new day, endless possibilities, the blank slate. Stuff like that. And if you wake early you feel like you’re ahead of everybody else and the world is there just for you to enjoy. Pretty poetic.

Problem is, most mornings lately I haven’t been able to wake up at all. Not in a good way at least. I’ve been drained. It’s been a hellish winter by Malta standards and my previous 6:30 am gym routines has become a lunch-time gym routine (still a good routine obviously). When it’s as cold indoors as it is outdoors, which is the case in Malta in winters, (at least some winters), you’re not keen to get out of the three-to-five layers of fabric you’re sleeping under. It’s the humidity and the lack of indoor heating that’s making me tired and lazy.

But yesterday was the first day of spring and I’m keen to get back to early-riser routines. Which I hope will give me time to get me back into the writing that’s been sorely neglected the last five months.

If you’re a writer, being a early riser seems to be a decent recipe for success. That’s at least the point of this great post on Brain Pickings called “Famous Writers’ Sleep Habits vs. Literary Productivity Visualized“.

Suddenly I feel tired and need to go to bed. Good night.

The Point of Graphical Sex Scenes?

I t’s a zero. Meaning: no point. Now, please read on. 

We’re watching a lot of series and films together with our ten-year-old. He’s a part of the Youtube-know-it-all generation so he knows what sex, violence and swearwords are. Still, I don’t think it’s great for him (or me) to watch graphical sex or violence scenes. It’s actually pretty damn awkward.

It makes me wonder what directors and screenwriters think when they decide to make something graphical. Is it to shock/repulse? To make some kind of statement? To be “real”?

When you see a hatchet being thrown against a head and hear a thud-sound out of picture, you put two and two together. Same thing happens when you watch a man and a woman kiss intensely and then lie down on a bed. You understand exactly what’s happening and there is no point in watching it. Actually it will likely be:

Slightly disgusting
Kinda awkward
Look really cheap (think Stephen King cutting a fake cow in half in “Under the Dome”)

So what’s the point? Why can’t we keep it subtle and focus on the storytelling? Are there plot problems to cover up by distracting the viewer’s attention?

My take on this is:

If you want to see gore and violence – watch a horror film.

If you want to see sex – watch porn.

It’s that easy. But when you put graphical sex or violence into comedies or thriller series, I scratch my head and wonder why. And I think most ten-year-olds (and older) do the same.

The Sigh of Political Correctness

People need to take things less seriously @Independent: Will Ferrell has defended the racism in his new film Get Hard http://t.co/4ARHym07lh

— Jonas Eriksson (@jonaswrites) March 20, 2015

I know people all over the world are suffering and there are more important stuff to be annoyed about. Yet, this annoys me.

It’s comedy. It’s supposed to be funny and joke around stereotypes. It’s not to be taken seriously and DEFINITELY not to be offended by.

Still, people get offended by stupid things all the time. Being Swedish, I know this firsthand as we’re one of the most “politically corrected peoples” around. In Sweden, if a road sign depicts a male, people get outraged and start spewing things in media about how it reflects the patriarchal society (there are many other examples of this, but you get the point).

It’s a sign. Move on.

Don’t people have better things to do? More pressing things to worry about?

There are a lot of injustices in the world. Nothing and no one is perfect. There is work to do, weights to pull. So to me it seems like being offended by comedies, road signs and comics, to name recent examples, is a bit over-the-top and a waste of energy and time.

My advice to you on this Friday is therefore: Don’t take things too seriously. Laugh a little. Loosen your shoulders. Worry about the really important stuff and when it’s not really important, shrug and let it go.

The Personal MBA

Couldn’t pass this one up in the store yesterday: “The Personal MBA” by Josh Kaufman (amazon affiliate link). Seems interesting, but I get kind of skeptical towards messages like: “a world class business education in one single volume.”

But I’ll give my review in a little while.

Great lyricists: Jason Isbell

I’ve written a post on the impressive music of Jason Isbell, but I didn’t quote my favourite two songs on that album. Firstly, “Yvette” which is so powerful it brings you to tears. Talk about stark imagery in a song…

The second song “Relatively easy” reminds us (most of us) that we have it relatively easy.

Yvette

I can barely make out a little light from the house on the cul-de-sac

bedroom upstairs, it’s a family affair.

I’ve watched you in class, your eyes are cut glass and you stay covered up,

head to your toe, so nobody will notice you

I might not be a man yet,

but that bastard will never be,

so I’m cleaning my Weatherby

I sight in my scope

and I hope against hope.

I hope against hope.

Your mother seems nice, I don’t understand why she won’t say anything.

As if she can’t see who he turned out to be.

I might not be a man yet,

but your father will never be.

so I load up my Weatherby,

and I let out my breath,

and I couple with death.

I couple with death.

Saw your father last night, and in the window the light made a silhouette.

Saw him hold you that way, he won’t hold you that way anymore, Yvette.

Relatively Easy

Are you having a long day

Everyone you meet rubs you the wrong way

Dirty city streets smell like an ashtray

Morning bells are ringing in your ear

Is your brother on a church kick

Seems like just a different kind of dope sick

Better off to teach a dog a card trick

And try to have a point and make it clear

You should know compared

To people on a global scale

Our kind has had it relatively easy

And here with you there’s always

Something to look forward to

Our angry heart beats relatively easy

I lost a good friend

Christmas time when folks go off the deep end

His woman took the kids and he took klonopin

Enough to kill a man of twice his size

Not for me to understand

Remember him when he was still a proud man

A vandals smile a baseball in his right hand

Nothing but the blue sky in his eye

Still compared to those

A stones throw away from you

Our lives have both been relatively easy

Take the(a) year and make a break

There ain’t that much at stake

The answers could be relatively easy

Watch that lucky man walk to work again

He may not have a friend left in the world

See him walking home again to sleep alone

Or step into a shop to buy a postcard for a girl

I broke the law boys

Shooting out the windows of my loft boys

When they picked me up I made a big noise

Everything to blame except my mind

I should say I keep your picture with me everyday

The evenings now are relatively easy

Here with you there’s always

Something to look forward to

My lonely heart beats relatively easy

My lonely heart beats relatively easy

Dave Chappelle is Back

I think “What would it take for you to leave $50 mil?” would be a better headline, but…

Through my far too long and unmanaged Twitter feed, I discovered through New York Times that comedian Dave Chappelle is touring again.

Chappelle famously went into hiding after two seasons of his very popular Chappelle Show in 2005, despite being offered ginormous amounts of money (reportedly €50 million) to continue by HBO.

The fans applauded his bravado to get away from the “money machine” or whatever his intention was, but they were obviously at the same time sad and mystified. How long would he be gone for? Would he never come back?

But SEVEN (or so) years later he did.  This is what he said on Letterman: “Technically I never quit. I’m seven years late to work.” Letterman who’s witty and fast-minded himself had a good reply:  “Boy, are you gonna be in trouble when you go back.”

When you listen to the interview he seems a bit bitter that he left the scene for so long and missed out on all that money. He doesn’t seem to want to open up about why he left, maybe he’s tired of talking about it, maybe he regrets the decision not to take those $50 million. What he does talk about is how he and the guys at HBO couldn’t get along. And that’s what happens when you’re in the big money – creative freedom is gone and maybe that’s why Dave Chappelle got going?

The most interesting part of the Dave Chappelle interview with Letterman is from around 10:00 where he talks about money being the “fuel of choice” and the difference of $10 million and $50 million not being a huge lifestyle change, despite an “astounding” difference of $40 million.

If you’re interested in Dave Chappelle, I suggest this indie documentary. It’s great quality for an indie film production and definitely worth viewing.

Link: Chappelle’s Show -The 50 Million Dollar Question.

See bits of Dave Chappelle’s finest stand-up below. There’s plenty more on Youtube of course, but for someone who spent a good amount of time in D.C. this really hits home.

What would it take for you to leave $50 million?

The 1000 Hour Rule – by James Altucher

Crazy or genius? Well, writer/thinker/speaker James Altucher has them both covered in an entertaining way. This is his take on Malcolm Gladwell’s famous 10 000 hour rule. I like it so I quote it in part below and link to his full post here.

“THE 1000 HOUR RULE (note: this is NOT the 10,000 hour rule. One less zero).

Everybody knows the 10,000 HOUR RULE. The one popularized by Malcolm Gladwell that basically says if you do dedicated practice for 10,000 hours you can master a field. You can reach your full potential or close to it.

He used the Beatles as an example. They spent 10,000 hours playing music 18 hours a day in German porn clubs for five years and became the best in the world.

It makes sense. If you practice painting water colors for 10,000 hours you will be among the best in the world at water color painting.

Here’s the problem: We don’t just have one passion or love in life. The universe wants us to have fun doing more than one thing in life. That’s how it learns. You don’t have one purpose in life. You have maybe 500 or so.

And 10,000 hours is a lot of time. It’s anywhere from 5-30 years of your life. And then you die. And what do you show for it? That you’re great at watercolor painting. Not everyone is going to be the Beatles. That involves some luck also.

So I prefer the 1000 hour rule.

If you practice ANYTHING for one thousand hours and make sure it’s dedicated practice then you will STILL be among the best in the world.

How come? Because with anything worth learning there is a steep learning curve. In the first 1000 hours your ability goes straight up. Then it starts to even out as you learn more of the subtleties required to be among the best.

Here’s the thing: NOBODY GIVES A SHIT.

Since only the best in the world can really appreciate the subtleties and 99.9999% of the world can’t tell the difference between somebody who has studied for 1000 hours versus someone who has studied for 10,000 hours then you can appear to be the best in the world and get much of the benefits of it by just putting in 1000 hours of dedicated practice.

In fact, if you get good at learning new things, then you can even take another zero off. The 100 hour rule. Or maybe 200 hours. This makes life a LOT better and more fun. You can take that zero off after you get really good at the first thing.

Because then you have learned how to learn. So that saves a lot of energy on the next thing you learn.

Phew! This one rule has saved me decades of time. I can’t be the world champion at chess but I can be a chess master. I can’t be a billionaire but I can perhaps learn enough about a field to make a real contribution to society.

And I can do it more than once. In fact, I can do it every year of my life and learn many things.

Thank god for the 1000 hour rule. (or the 100 hour rule).”

Atmosphere – Camera Thief

I’ve always enjoyed listening to good lyricists no matter what genre. Atmosphere is one. Just check out a his latest tune Camera Thief from the record (people still record “records” you know) Southsiders. I realize I already wrote a post on Atmosphere’s great lyrics – it’s here and about the song called Yesterday.

Camera Thief

Atmosphere

[Verse 1]

Camera thief

Take pictures

Run like the parallel stitches

Attach my feet to the path I beat

Teach myself to keep the answers brief

Gnash my teeth like the last to feast

Imagine me on that abandoned beach

Sand and sea as if the jazz was free

I’m Ice cream mixed with gasoline

Direct attention to the craftsmanship

Neglect to mention that the past will stick

Like initials carved in the concrete

Like the tattoo that hides on your mommy

I still kick it with angels

The difference is instead of the bar, I’m at my kitchen table

The starlight shines through the glass

But you feel safe underneath that mask

[Verse 2]

Ferris Wheel, give rides

The scars healed in time to get high

Lock the doors and hide the keys

Let’s go describe how to climb a tree

Don’t sign the lease just cop a corner

For you to curl up and try to sleep

Those cheap police won’t find my wings

I keep my dreams inside my dreams

And If I had a time machine

I’d probably use it like a vacuum and try to clean

It kind a seems, quite more than a handful of these regrets have been circumstantial

Now give me all the cash out the drawer

Touch that mustache down on the floor

And I’ll be in court holding a pitchfork

‘Fore I let the contest outlast the sport

[Verse 3]

Pocket watch, impatient

Find a mate then make the migration

Break the rules, but first break the rulers

And keep it moving like a rumor

I don’t need to defend my defensiveness

I keep to myself, my family, and friendships

I’ve got enough people I could disappoint

If you disagree I think you missed the point

Now go ahead and grab a chair

Let me tell you about the last few years

Pulled out a sack full of Samson’s hair

And put it on the dash like a dancin’ bear

I wrote you a horoscope

It won’t fit on this post-it note

But if I had to sum it up into a shorter quote

It goes fuck it, you might as well row that boat