is what I did on Monday. Because I was bored after doing things that needed doing. Those things also being boring. What I did was click on YouTube and spend the next ten or twelve hours there – watching.
Can I now say with any certainty, THIS IS WHO I AM? Let’s get into it.
What I Watched
was typical of what I watch. Which is to say: Sports talk and highlights; Politics; Outdoor activities; Book talk; and two Movies. More specifically: basketball and baseball; presidential election politics; hiking and grilling; one book review; a manly hero, fish-out-of-water, against-all-odds flick. And then, I finished off the evening with a thought provoking, historical fiction, political, mental health drama.
After which I went to bed and slept well, without any dreams that I recall.
However, there is some context and nuance. The Denver Nuggets, my ‘home town’ NBA basketball team, is playing for the championship. Therefore, I watched a lot of talk about that. In addition, the New York Yankees are playing the LA Dodgers in baseball. That rivalry goes way back, both for baseball and in my family.
Drilling down
into the meat of things, we learn more. On the surface we can say I am a person who likes sports and outdoor activity. Who’s also interested in presidential politics, reading and writing, and masculine behavior. But that’s small talk.
The basketball talk was very appealing (to me) because the series is tied at one game apiece. Unexpectedly. The Nuggets were heavy favorites over the Miami Heat, but didn’t win both games. Why? Herein we get into the psychology of competition and winning. Which is also foremost in presidential politics and hero movies. In addition, so is grilling (It was a competition.)
That’s getting closer to who I am.
What about women?
you might ask. Well, many of my Youtube subscriptions, about hiking, books, logging, philosophy, psychology, and politics feature women. Moreover, the sport talk shows almost always feature women. Maybe that’s why I prefer watching on Youtube as opposed to listening on radio, iTunes, or Spotify?
More about these women later. I could spend all day, everyday, watching and listening to them talk about their passions.
Going still deeper
takes us to content. The presidential politics that grabbed my attention was focused on Robert Kennedy Jr. I wanted to know, ‘what’s up with him?’ He and I are close in age, he’s 69 and I’m 73. We ‘came of age’ and were impacted by the same events. Why run now? Furthermore, What’s up with his voice?
I watched about three hours of conversation with Robert Kennedy Jr.. One via Zoom with Jordan Peterson, and another live town hall with Michael Smerconish. I learned a lot! While I agree with RFK on some things, I find his mental health problematic. Just as I did with Marianne Williamson.
Kennedy, Williamson, and indeed most of us, have been impacted greatly by ACE, or adverse childhood experience. Even if those conditions weren’t personal, trauma can mold us.
The Movies
I watched were Black Rain (1989), staring Michael Douglas, and The Umbrella Man (2016). Given that life is, for most of us, uncertain and chaotic it’s no wonder we are attracted to strong, vigorous, male hero characters.
The Umbrella Man, was a recommendation by YouTube that turned out to tie a bow around my whole day’s watching experience. AI isn’t all bad!
The story centered around a theory that John Kennedy, Junior’s uncle and 35th president of the USA, was not the victim of a lone deranged assassin, but a CIA plot.
Get this! Furthermore, it turns out Robert Jr. believes that is true! Along with many other debatable things.
However, that’s not the whole story. The main idea of the movie, the story is: that unexpected, traumatic events can lead to serious mental health issues that can destroy people’s lives. In other words, we need strong, vigorous, competent people to help us through this crazy, chaotic world we inhabit.
In conclusion
what did I learn about my day’s watching experience? And what does that say about me? Does it give insight to who I am? You bet it does.
If I were to take this one day’s viewing into psychoanalysis with my psych-girl, what do you think she would say?
She might say: “Mark, you seem to be attracted to women less than half your age. And you have unrealistic expectations about the real world. You might want to lower them. So as to increase your probability of finding happiness. Also, I might argue, you might consider filtering what you say. You are not a Psychologist. Take care of yourself. You know, drink less dark whiskey.
I’ll see you in two weeks.”
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