Samuel Engelen's Blog, page 2
August 29, 2013
What TVs Can Teach Us About Ourselves
Last weekend we took our son to story time at an indie bookstore. The first story was about these parents who were too busy to spend time with their child, so they just put him in front of the TV. The TV then took on the role of caretaker, actually doing a better job at […]
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August 26, 2013
Freedom in Restrictions
Freedom has always been my main goal. I don’t just want freedom, I need it. When others try to impose rules and restrict my movements, my blood starts boiling. I feel like a caged animal, and I’ll do pretty much anything to get the hell out of that cage. I have a sort of claustrophobia, […]
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August 15, 2013
29 Or So Perks Of Minimalism
After my rant about me being a bit of a fraud, I felt I should remind myself of why I’m still a minimalist. I also feel this blog is a little bit too serious sometimes, so without further ado, here’s a list of 29 or so perks of minimalism: 1. You don’t have to leave […]
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August 13, 2013
The Embarrassing Truth About My Minimalism
It’s been pointed out to me (and I’ve noticed it myself as well) that I sometimes come across a bit patronizing in my writing. Even though I write about not using minimalism to put others down, I am, on occasion, guilty of it myself. So, I wish to apologize. And I will do so by […]
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July 31, 2013
Everything’s Peachy
The following is an excerpt fromThe Happy House, which will probably be published somewhere around the end of this year. *** Tommy struggled to open his eyes, which seemed quite radically opposed to the gesture. Despite the world being covered in a carpet of ash clouds blocking out the sun, reality was too bright for [...]
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July 27, 2013
A Companion Piece to the Most Minimalist Blog Post Ever Written
As a minimalist I aspire to be as succinct in my writing as possible. This is, of course, impossible, because even the incredibly short post I just wrote isn’t the most succinct way of summing up minimalism. I’ve been thinking of writing a book on minimalism for a while now, but I always end up [...]
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July 23, 2013
Review: Act Accordingly by Colin Wright
As you may have guessed I have read a fair share of spiritual texts, self-help books and philosophy papers. You could probably fill entire skyscrapers with all the stale advice that has been published in the last thirty years alone. And out of that murky soup of platitudes comes a little book that is as [...]
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July 6, 2013
Bridging The Gap Between Genius And Me
Often, I’ll be reading the work of some new writer I’ve discovered or a classic I had not yet had the chance of delving into, and I’ll think to myself, How the hell did he/she come up with that? There’s no way in hell I could ever come up with something as brilliant as that. [...]
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June 22, 2013
The Chaotic Minimalist’s Guide To Fitness
I started working out when I was 17 years old. I also stopped working out when I was 17. My best friend joined me at the gym, and after a few months it was obvious he had far superior genes for physical development. In just three months, his physique had altered significantly. I had followed [...]
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June 21, 2013
33 Things
June 2013 Gear Update I just checked and I’m currently borrowing 33 things from the universe (depending on how you count, of course—two shoes or one pair of shoes, a stack of index cards or exactly 25 index cards, that sort of thing). I will admit that at this point, I occasionally wish I had [...]
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