The Pryor Week #5: Frankenstein, Satire, and Hot Sauce

Hey! I hope you’ve been having a craptastically fun week so far.

Here’s what I did:

• Got my 2nd injection of the 5G chip! It’s really helping my new phone’s reception! I know it sounds pretty late for you fancier country dwellers, but there were 3 issues in the long delay:

1. It took forever for Taiwan to get enough doses to feed its population. A certain country led by a Pooh Bear heavily interfered with several massive shipments in the early months.

2. I had some *enjoyable* bureaucratic problems with my records here that were finally solved this week, thankfully.

3. I’m really damn lazy sometimes.

• Spent 5 days reworking my sleep cycle. I made a conscious decision to discover what the sun looks like again. It’s pretty. My eyebags, on the other hand, are now eating my face.

• Did a ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) Reddit style, talking to people about what it’s like living in Taiwan. It’s still open so feel free to shout out a question!

• Went on a few too many rabbit holes. The most interesting and frustrating one was on the idea of satire vs parody vs liability and how it’s not so clear-cut. As you may have guessed, I’ve been busy outlining a new satire cartoon book—been far too long since the last one. (Also it’s free on Kindle for the next few days if curious.)

Pic Descrip:

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming every fun drug known to man in one sitting, then you’ve already tasted the above sauce. It’s called—get ready for the originality of this one—Spicy Bean Sauce! And it is by far my favorite sauce in the entire world.

In Mandarin, its called 豆瓣醬 (Dòubàn jiàng).

You can put this on everything. Pasta, chicken, fries, peanut butter tuna sandwiches—you name it!

Usually, you can find it at the better late-night breakfast or dumpling shops. And of course, in my fridge and stomach.

I’m not sure if it’s available wherever you live, but I strongly suggest giving it a try!

* I was not paid to endorse this sweet sweet nectar of the heavens. They would never have to pay me to kiss the sunset.

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This Week’s Pryor Learnings

#1. Gulliver’s Travels

During that big rabbit hole of satire I came across Gulliver’s Travels.

“What? Satire? That’s clearly a children’s book about giantism and S&M,” I thought.

Apparently, the book was originally written as a large critique of British society by Jonathan Swift. Even more interestinger, it was originally published anonymously as part of a concerted effort by a group of satirists who wanted to avoid litigation while spreading several important messages across society.

I may go down a rabbit hole of how it turned into a classic children’s book if anyone’s interested in seeing a piece on that?

#2. Cultural Norms

1.5 years ago…oh wait, 2.5 years ago, (time flies during a pandemic, sigh) Microsoft’s Japan office conducted a 3-month experiment where they switched to a 4 day work week (Eeeh gad man!).

As my last boss would’ve expected, it was a complete disas…haha no. It was a big success!

“The result, the company says, was a productivity boost of 40% … became more efficient in several areas, including lower electricity costs, which fell by 23%. And… printed nearly 60 percent fewer pages.”

Not too shabby. Hopefully, the pandemic and studies like this give collective corporate cultures a slap in the face in the future. Hell, I’d love to take 3 day weekends more often, but my current boss is a bit of a dick.

Gotta love solopreneuring, eh?

#3. Hearing Things

Have you ever heard a mysterious unexplained voice out of nowhere? I have.

It was one of the first times filling up a car at a gas station in my youth. I had also started a new allergy prescription medication and may have forgotten to eat right after. The voice of a frustrated god soon appeared and repeatedly told me how to properly operate the pump. That sure was an awkward 2 minutes at the counter afterward.

But apparently, for those suffering from actual uncontrollable voices in their head, a 2014 Stanford study showed “that voice-hearing experiences of people with serious psychotic disorders are shaped by local culture – in the United States, the voices are harsh and threatening; in Africa and India, they are more benign and playful.”

That’s pretty crazy.

I figured most humans would suffer from frustrated/angry hallucinatory voices in the same manner as the gas station attendant. I also wonder if the “benign and playful” voice sufferers have a greater or lesser degree of frustration with their disorder as a result. Interesting.

#4. Frankenstein’s Monster

Mary Shelley’s husband died at sea at the young age of 29. His body washed up on shore 10 days later, and they cremated it in a funeral pyre on the beach. His heart, however, didn’t burn up along with the rest, and it was eventually given to Mary.

What does the writer of Frankenstein do with a beloved heart? Why, wrap it in cloth and carry it everywhere for the rest of her life, of course! After her death, the heart was found in her desk wrapped in a paper containing her husband’s last poem.

Apparently, the heart is thought to have been calcified from tuberculosis and such survived the flames.

It is unknown if Mary attempted to recreate her husband from other spare parts beforehand.

#5. Gullible’s Library

I just thought this was funny and wanted to share:

I’m not sure who made the meme, if anyone knows let me know and I’ll update the credit.

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