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<p><img style="margin-right: auto;margin-left: auto" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-174635" src="https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2023/01/Odds-and-Ends-header-v3.1.jpg" alt="A vintage metal box labeled ";Odds &; Ends"; with a blurred background, photographed on April 14, 2023." width="540" height="auto"></img></p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/1984314/Neil_Postmans_Advice_on_How_to_Live_the_Rest_of_Your_Life"><strong>Neil Postman’s Advice on How to Live the Rest of Your Life.</strong></a> Neil Postman is one of my favorite thinkers about media and its effect on individuals and our culture. I recently came across a lecture of his life advice that was posthumously compiled and delivered by one of his colleagues.<em data-start="270" data-end="305"> </em>It consists of a list of his 22 maxims for surviving a culture in decline. Some you may disagree with (Californians may object to #1). But the list is cranky in the best way. It’s funny, thought-provoking, and full of enduring wisdom. Some of my favorites: </p>
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<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Do not watch TV news shows or read any tabloid newspapers.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Do not become a jogger. If you are one, stop immediately.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">If you are married, stay married.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Establish as many regular routines as possible.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Remember: It is more likely than not that as you get older you will get dumber.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Keep your opinions to a minimum.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Carefully limit the information input you will allow.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Weingartner’s Law: 95% of everything is nonsense.</li>
<li data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Take religion more seriously than you have. </li>
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWwGhSVOjbhZSBh-Wa3xTw"><strong>Julieta Venegas.</strong></a> Julieta Venegas has been dominating the McKay car listening rotation lately. The Mexican singer-songwriter’s accordion-driven pop has catchy melodies that stick with you for days. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuTx1QwLPjM">“Lento,”</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8rBC6GCUjg">“Me Voy,”</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtpTCWF2fjk">“Andar Conmigo”</a> have become family favorites during commutes to school. Venegas has a distinctive voice that’s easy to listen to. The kids have enjoyed trying to use the Spanish they’ve learned in school to translate the lyrics. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300088655/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&;camp=1789&;creative=390957&;creativeASIN=0300088655"><strong><em>The Lonely Crowd</em> by David Riesman.</strong></a> This 1950 sociology classic identified a crucial shift in American character — from “inner-directed” individuals guided by internal values to “other-directed” people constantly seeking peer approval. Though written over 70 years ago, its observations about conformity feel eerily prescient in our social media world. Even though I first read the book over a decade ago, I still find myself thinking about Riesman’s framework. Check out the article that we wrote highlighting the book’s main ideas: <a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/becoming-an-autonomous-man-in-an-other-directed-world/">The Autonomous Man in an Other-Directed World.</a></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/4lyPFJp">Jack Link’s Beef Steak.</a> </strong>I’m always on the lookout for <a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/healthy-road-trip-eating/">healthy, high-protein road trip snacks that I can grab at a standard convenience store</a>. On a recent roadtrip to New Mexico, I discovered these peppered beef “steaks” from Jack Link’s. With 23 grams of protein and only 140 calories, they’re very <a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/how-to-track-macros/">macro friendly</a>. And the stick form makes it easier to eat while driving than a bag of loose jerky pieces. </p>
<p>On our <a href="https://www.dyingbreed.net/"><strong>Dying Breed newsletter</strong></a>, we published <a href="https://www.dyingbreed.net/p/sunday-firesides-information-wont">Sunday Firesides: Information Won’t Save You</a> and <a href="https://www.dyingbreed.net/p/how-to-be-a-swell-podcast-guest">How to Be a Swell Podcast Guest.</a></p>
<p><strong>Quote of the Week</strong></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400">What we attend to controls our behavior. What we can get others to attend to controls their behavior. . . . ‘Tell me what you habitually attend to and I will tell you what you are.’</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">—H.A. Overstreet</span></p>
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<p>This article was originally published on <a>The Art of Manliness. </a></p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/odds-ends/odds-ends-april-18-2025/">Source link </a></p>
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Odds & Ends: April 18, 2025
