This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is a CreepyPasta that I wrote and narrated myself. Enjoy!
Why We REALLY Should End Daylight Savings
This past weekend marked the continuation of one of the most annoying biannual rituals in America. We once again changed our clocks to adjust for Daylight Savings Time. I understand it’s a practice that most of us have been doing all our lives. We’re so used to it that, for the most part, we see it as a temporary annoyance more than anything else.
But beyond the annoyance, this practice is one of those various things that have no practical use, yet we still continue to do. And the more we do it, the less sense it makes. I know because I’ve tried to explain why we do Daylight Savings Time to people from other countries. Their reactions are usually quite telling. I don’t deny that America has many strange practices and traditions, but Daylight Savings Time is definitely one of the strangest, at least in a contemporary sense.
Now, there was a time when Daylight Savings had a practical use. When it was passed by the United States in 1918, it was actually part of a larger trend among industrialized nations at the time. Canada and various countries in Europe had adopted similar practices for similar reasons. The idea was to adjust clocks so that criticizes had more waking hours in sunlight, which reduced energy consumption. This was also done to coincide sunlight with the standard working schedule that had emerged during that era, which was dominated largely by industrial labor.
Whether Daylight Savings achieved this goal or not, it made some sense at the time. In an era when work and scheduled were much more regimented, it made sense to align these schedules with daylight hours to the greatest extent possible, especially for regions at higher latitudes. However, there’s not much evidence that Daylight Savings time has a tangible benefit in that regard. In some instances, it may even be detrimental.
That alone should be cause enough to consider ending the practice. And people far smarter than me have already made plenty of valid arguments towards ending it. Here’s just one video that nicely lays it out.
Even if you don’t fully agree with all these points, there’s one other I’d like to offer and I think it’s the most important.
Getting rid of Daylight Savings Time would be a solid demonstration that we, as a society, can end practices that no longer make sense and no longer offer any tangible benefits. That, more than anything else, is a good reason to do it.
Beyond the fact that the practice is wildly unpopular, regardless of political leanings, plenty of other countries have decided to end it and have not had many ill effects. They saw that this practice just wasn’t incurring any benefits and maintaining it just made no sense. So, why keep doing it? Why continue a practice that only ever succeeds in annoying or inconveniencing people?
Doing it because it’s just something we’ve always done is not a valid reason. If anything, that’s quite possibly the worst excuse for continuing anything that has no tangible benefit. And in this case, there’s reason to believe it does more harm than good. Ending this practice might make things a little strange during the times of the year when the days are really short or really long, but that’s easier to adapt to because it’s less abrupt and jarring.
Let’s at least prove to ourselves that we can stop or change practices like this. We can end a dumb, outdated, annoying tradition that few care for. It’s not a serious or overly controversial issue. And if we can’t somehow figure out a way to stop, then we have much bigger problems than losing an hour of sleep every spring.
Filed under Current Events, health, psychology, rants
Jack Quick Reacts: The Last Of Us Season One Finale
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is my quick reaction to the season one finale of HBO’s The Last of Us. Like my other quick reacts, I didn’t script this or structure it like a video essay. As a result, I stutter and stammer a lot. I also make a few errors here and there. But I still try to get my point across.
Also, I do mention some heavy spoilers from both the show and the games. So do keep that in mind. Enjoy!
Filed under Current Events, HBO Max, Jack's World, technology, video games, YouTube
Remembering And Learning From The Satanic Panic
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is a brief video essay, as well as a reflection of sorts, on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. It’s an issue that has suddenly become more relevant in recent years and for all the wrong reasons. But the circumstances (and absurdities) of what happened in the 1980s were unique. And they’re worth learning from, especially if those with agendas are intent on starting a whole new panic.
Filed under Current Events, Jack's World, politics, psychology, YouTube
Fox News Revelations And The (Distressing) Truth About Truth
As a general rule, I exercise a healthy skepticism when it comes to news from the American media. I emphasize healthy because it’s one thing to be skeptical. It’s quite another to be so skeptical that you doubt or outright reject all news stories from the media, regardless of the topic.
That’s not skepticism.
That’s just willful ignorance, plain and simple.
But to be fair, it’s not like the American media has a spotless track record. In fact, if you were to grade the American media on the basis of accuracy, honesty, and ethics, it would probably get a C-minus at best and an F at worst. That’s not to say everyone in the media is dishonest or every media outlet is untrustworthy. There are certain some outlets that garner more credibility than others. And if you’re a responsible, well-meaning person, you should strive to get your news from a credible source.
Then, there’s Fox News.
Now, I could say a lot about Fox News. I’ve been tempted to go on plenty of angry rants about them on this site and on my YouTube channel. I usually choose not to because I know I would be inviting some pretty serious vitriol from certain people with certain political leanings. I won’t say who they are. But you follow American politics in any capacity, you know who I’m talking about.
The only reason I’m daring to talk about Fox News now is because recent revelations have cast their whole operation in a new light. The news came out last month in mid-February 2023. For the past three years, Fox News has been among the many conservative news outlets that platformed and entertained theories that the 2020 Presidential Election was undermined by major cases of voter fraud.
Now, I prefer not to get into the details of that politically charged shit storm. Many other people far more qualified and smarter than me have done extensive breakdowns on why the results of the 2020 election were legitimate. If, at this point, you still believe the election was stolen and the mainstream media refuses to report on it, then I’m sorry. I can’t convince you. I can’t help you, either. You’ve bought into a fraud and there’s no way someone like me is going to get you out of that.
But it’s this politically charged issue that finally got Fox News in trouble. For years, Fox News has been branded as the conservative counterpart to the more liberal-leaning news outlets like MSMBC and CNN. As to just how “liberal” those networks lean is up for debate. But there’s no debate that Fox leans conservative. They champions conservative talking points and figureheads, sometimes to an excessive degree.
However, their willingness to entertain this demonstrably untrue conspiracy theory about the 2020 election finally got Fox News into serious legal trouble. There’s a real possibility that Fox News and their parent company, News Corp, could be on the hook for billions of dollars in damages. That kind of lawsuit is a big deal for any major media company. And while it’s not yet clear how it’ll pan out, one important detail did emerge.
Apparently, the many TV personalities that Fox News employed during this narrative didn’t actually believe any of the crazy election conspiracies that they were entertaining on air. They’ve even gone so far as to say outright, and with verified text messages and legal affidavits, that they didn’t believe the election fraud claims for a second.
AP: Off camera, Fox hosts doubted 2020 election fraud claims
To millions of viewers, Fox News hosts gave allies of former President Donald Trump a platform to champion false claims that he lost the 2020 election because of voter fraud. To one another, they expressed doubts about the claims and mocked the people making them.
Private exchanges between Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, and other network bigwigs — including the chairman of Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch — show a wide chasm between what the network promoted in primetime and the doubts that its stars held behind the camera, according to new court filings in a defamation lawsuit being waged by a company whose voting systems were regularly maligned on air.
“Sidney Powell is lying” about having evidence for election fraud, Carlson said via text on Nov. 16, 2020 to a Fox News producer, referring to one of Trump’s lawyers.
Ingraham texted Carlson that Powell is “a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy,” referring to the former New York mayor and Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani.
This sort of revelation is not a trivial matter, at least with respect to the lawsuit. The fact that Fox knowingly entertained these conspiracy theories that they believed to be wrong is a big problem. It means that the talking heads you see on that network may say they believe one thing when the cameras are rolling, but they believe something completely different once they cameras and teleprompters are off.
They often make the defense that their shows aren’t “news” as much as they are opinion pieces. However, their opinions are often framed as news stories or as serious questions about established narratives. And, like it or not, these people have huge audiences. The people who watch these shows take what they say seriously. And that can have serious consequences. We saw some of those consequences play out during the January 6th riots at the Capitol.
It paints a very cynical picture. These people, who are well-paid and very powerful within conservative circles, are just telling their audience what they want to hear. They’re not giving people the news. They’re feeding them whatever political spin they think will get them riled up, impassioned, and most importantly, watching night after night.
That is an objectively dangerous practice and it will continue to have serious consequences. I will even go so far as to say that what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, probably wasn’t the worst manifestation of these consequences. I’ve had to deal directly with some of these people in my private life. I’ve been threatened by them. I’ve been yelled at by them. These people claim to be patriots, but they’re nothing of the sort.
And that brings me to the harshest truth about this revelation that I think is worth highlighting. Yes, it’s important that this came out. Yes, it’s a big deal that these influential figures at Fox News flat out admitted that they didn’t believe the bullshit conspiracies they were promoting, but did so anyway because it was good for ratings and revenue.
However, in the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter to the average Fox News viewer in the slightest.
It doesn’t matter that official court documents prove that these people have been lying to them.
It doesn’t matter that Fox News admits outright that the 2020 election was not stolen and there’s no evidence at all to support the fraud claims.
The average Fox News, deeply conservative viewer doesn’t care what the truth is.
They only care that they’re fed a narrative that makes them feel good and vindicated.
I know this because again, I’ve dealt with these people. I’ve tried to talk to them. I’ve tried to reason with them. It doesn’t work. At best, they think I’m just shilling for the mainstream media. At worst, they think I’m they’re enemy. A few have even said that when the next American Revolution begins, they will target me. I will be on their hitlist of people they think are traitors to America who need to be eliminated.
Truth is no longer applicable in the minds of these people.
The very concept of what it means to be an American patriot doesn’t matter, either.
All that matters is that they get to be the heroes in their own fanciful narrative about America. The fact that the America they’re envisioning just happens to be a Fascist government run by Christian Nationalists isn’t beside the point. It is the point.
They may know what the truth is in their heart of hearts. They may even accept it on some levels. They just don’t care.
That is extremely dangerous. And I genuinely worry that the danger is going to get much worse before it gets better.
Filed under Uncategorized
Ultimate Invasion: My (Mixed) Thoughts On The Return Of Ultimate Marvel
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is a reaction and response video to Marvel’s recent announcement that they’re revising the world of Ultimate Marvel in June 2023 with Ultimate Invasion. I found this news somewhat striking because a year ago, I made a series of videos arguing that Marvel should reboot the Ultimate Universe. And there’s a real chance we could get something like that with this event. However, based on what little we know about the event, my feelings are somewhat mixed. And in this video, I explain that sentiment while also exploring the potential and pitfalls of this news.
Filed under Jack's World, Marvel, superhero comics, superhero movies, YouTube
Why Alpha Males Are Bullshit (And Those Who Identify As Alphas Are Assholes)
I am a man.
I strive to be a good man.
I like to think I’ve done the best I can in that regard. I know I’m not perfect, but I still strive to improve. I also try my best not to judge others who don’t do as well or struggle to be the man they seek to be.
I say all of this as a precursor because I’m about to go on an angry rant, of sorts, on those who take advantage of insecure, vulnerable men. That rant will include profanity, tirades, and insults. So, if that doesn’t appeal to you, this is your warning. I’m just sharing that as a common courtesy.
Having gotten that out of the way, I’d like to make some important statements that hope finds its way to men and women alike.
Fuck every man who calls himself an alpha male.
Fuck every man who promotes the whole alpha male mentality.
Fuck every man who actually buys into the bullshit behind alpha males.
I understand that’s a bit terse, but I promise I mean every word. I only wish the English language had stronger forms of profanity to get my point across.
Because as a man who has written about men’s issues in the past, I have nothing but abject hatred and disdain for those peddling the objectively stupid notion of the alpha male. I would go so far as to argue it’s worse than the idea of “toxic masculinity,” another label I think is built on a foundation of bullshit.
But the notion of the alpha male isn’t just stupid and wrong. It’s dangerous.
It presents men with a rigid dichotomy that supposedly determines whether they’re a “real man” or just some loser weakling who can’t open a pickle jar. Either you’re some muscle-clad, sports-loving, macho douche-bag who builds his day around how many women he sleeps with or you’re some pathetic, scrawny weakling who deserves to get shoved into lockers in high school.
There’s nothing in between. You’re either one or the other. And unless you’re constantly striving for that alpha status, then you’re somehow a failure as a man.
Again, that’s all bullshit. I seriously cannot emphasize that enough. There is no such thing as an alpha male. That is not a thing in science, biology, or objective reality.
In fact, the whole concept behind “alpha males” is based on horribly flawed study about wolves in captivity that was later disproven. If you want to know the details, please see the following from Phys.org.
If you don’t care to read the whole thing, the long and the short of it is simple. The study that first coined the terms, alpha male and alpha female, was based on observations of social structures of wolves in captivity. However, that social structure does not manifest in the wild.
Instead, the structure is largely based on adult wolves looking after their pups. It’s not too different from how most social animals look after they’re young. We don’t call their parents alphas. That’s just a byproduct of having a particular social structure that relies on adults protecting, teaching, and guiding their young.
That’s exactly what happens in humans, too. We don’t call the parents of children alphas. They’re just parents. Their role is the same as the wolves observed in the wild. They raise their children as a family unit, looking after them and teaching them so that they can survive on their own.
At no point is there this alpha male of the pack who gets all the females and makes all the lesser males do his bidding. That’s not a social structure we find in nature. That’s a social structure we find only in cults, namely the dangerous ones.
That’s exactly what keeps the whole alpha male myth going. It feeds into the agenda of selfish, power-hungry narcissists who need some excuse for being the one who gets all the money, sleeps with all the women, and gets others to do his bidding with little to no compensation.
I won’t name names. But if you follow the news about people who throw around the whole “alpha” label, you know who I’m talking about.
Again, fuck those men and every asshole who buys into their bullshit.
Because that’s what this stupid concept propagates at the end of the day. It’s an enabling force for assholes seeking to exploit those who are vulnerable. Every cult leader in history does the same thing. Organized religion and toxic fandoms do it too. But the people who embrace the alpha male label are just uniquely insufferable.
So, the next time you hear someone throw that alpha male label around, remind them that it’s based on bullshit science and only exploited by wannabe cult leaders. And if they refuse to accept that, then don’t give them the courtesy of calling them alphas. Just call them insufferable assholes. Because that’s what they are and that’s what they’ve always been.
Filed under Current Events, gender issues, human nature, men's issues, psychology, rants
How Fox Got Wolverine Wrong (And How The MCU Can Get Him Right)
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video essay is me making the case that, for the most part, Fox got Wolverine wrong as a character over the course of multiple movies. In some cases, they got him egregiously wrong. And there are definitely lessons to learn from these movies, which will hopefully lead to a better Wolverine once he enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Enjoy!
Some Helpful (And Mostly Free) AI Tools That Might Help You
I talk about artificial intelligence a lot, both on this site and on my YouTube channel. It’s not just because Artificial Intelligence has the potential to be one of the most important technologies that mankind will ever create. It’s a topic of genuine fascination for me. I’ve always been a fan of the science fiction stories that can be told about AI. I also have a keen interest in how it may ultimately impact the real world.
However, as much fun as it is to speculate on the future of artificial intelligence, it’s a bit more productive to understand what it can do for you right now. I feel like AI has become a lot more mainstream with the rise of programs like ChatGPT. It’s very likely that other programs like it will emerge in the coming years and be very disruptive to multiple industries.
Granted, these AI systems are nowhere close to becoming sentient like Skynet or Hal 9000. We honestly don’t know when we’ll reach a point where an artificial intelligence will be as sentient and as intelligent as an average human. But for the time being, there are a growing number of tools powered by AI that are helping people within multiple fields. I’ve used quite a few of them. I’ve even shared some of the work I’ve done with them. And I can use these tools, then anyone can.
So, in the spirit of exploring this new world AI is creating, I’ve created a brief list of current AI tools that I hope others might find useful in whatever it is they do. Whether it’s writing, graphic design, web development, cooking, or personal interaction, there’s probably an AI tool to help you. While these tools might be limited in their use at the moment, it’s likely just the early versions of something that’ll become much more refined in the future.
And if you have other AI tools you find useful, please share them in the comments.
Copy.AI – An AI-Powered Copywriting Program
Piggy To – An AI-Powered Program That Creates Small, Shareable Websites
Riffusion – An AI-Powered Music Generator That Creates Music From Simple Text Prompts
Midjourney – The Most Popular AI-Artwork Generator
Yoodli AI – An Interactive AI That Helps Improve Your Communication Skills
GymGenie – An AI That Helps Develop A Workout Program
Article Fiesta – An AI Tool That Helps You Create Articles For Websites And Blogs
MeetGeek – An AI Tool That Helps Record, Transcribe, And Summarize Meetings
ChefGPT – An AI Tool That Helps Develop New Recepies
Avatar AI – An AI That Helps Develop Digital Avatars
Natural Reeder – An AI Text-To-Speech Tool That Creates Natural Language Narration Audio
Cowriter – An AI Tool That Helps Improve Your Writing
Filed under AI Art, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, futurism, technology
Jack’s Comic Gems: Cyclops Starstruck
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This is video another entry in my ongoing “Jack’s Comic Gems” collection. And this particular gem takes Cyclops, one of the most controversial and well-known X-Men characters, and puts him in an unfamiliar setting. He’s not leading the X-Men. He’s not clashing with Wolverine or obsessing over Jean Grey. He’s not even in his adult form thanks to some time travel shenanigans.
Instead, he’s in space re-connecting with his father, Corsair. He’s going on adventures with the Starjammers, channeling his inner space pirate. It’s not your typical Cyclops story, but that’s exactly what made it such a gem. Enjoy!
Filed under comic book reviews, Jack's World, superhero comics, X-men, YouTube
