My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love and the most absolute freedom imaginable, freedom from violence and lies, no matter what form the latter to take. – Anton Chekhov
I tell my students, “When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.” – Toni Morrison (1931-2019)
I’m gonna stay out here on the margin, and let the center look for me. – Toni Morrison (1931-2019)
If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. - Toni Morrison (1931-2019)
Anton Chekhov
“When a person is born, he can embark on only one of three roads of life: if you go right, the wolves will eat you; if you go left, you’ll eat the wolves; if you go straight, you’ll eat yourself.” – Fatherlessness or Platonov, Act I, sc. xiv (1878)
“It’s not a matter of old or new forms; a person writes without thinking about any forms, he writes because it flows freely from his soul.” – The Seagull (1896)
“Love is a great thing. It is not by chance that in all times and practically among all cultured peoples love in the general sense and the love of a man for his wife are both called love. If love is often cruel or destructive, the reason lies not in love itself, but in the inequality between people.” – Note-book of Anton Chekhov (1921)
Ian McKellen Reads a speech from The Book of Sir Thomas More, Act 2, Scene 4 in defense of immigrants
Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise
Hath chid down all the majesty of England;
Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,
Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,
Plodding to the ports and coasts for transportation,
And that you sit as kings in your desires,
Authority quite silent by your brawl,
And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;
What had you got? I’ll tell you: you had taught
How insolence and strong hand should prevail,
How order should be quelled; and by this pattern
Not one of you should live an aged man,
For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes
Would feed on one another ...
Say now the king
Should so much come too short of your great trespass
As but to banish you, whither would you go?
What country, by the nature of your error,
Should give you harbour? go you to France or Flanders,
To any German province, to Spain or Portugal,
Nay, any where that not adheres to England,
Why, you must needs be strangers: would you be pleased
To find a nation of such barbarous temper,
That, breaking out in hideous violence,
Would not afford you an abode on earth,
Whet their detested knives against your throats,
Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God
Owed not nor made not you, nor that the claimants
Were not all appropriate to your comforts,
But chartered unto them, what would you think
To be thus used? this is the strangers case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity.
Kant first critique
Kant’s philosophy focuses on the power and limits of reason.
Against rationalist metaphysics, Kant claims that reasoning faces strict limits. Reason cannot give us knowledge of God or a world beyond the senses; reasoning falls into contradiction and confusion if it does not respect these boundaries.
Against the empiricist account of motivation and morality, Kant argues that reason has a vital power. Reason enables us to act on principles that we can share with other rational beings. In a world of limits, reason reveals human freedom.
the continental retionalism: Rene Descarte, Leibniz, and Christian Wolff: the principle of sufficient reason: anything that exists mush necessarily have some reason why it exists. (存在即合理)
Kant’s pure reason is supposed to be the faculty that is capable of a priori knowledge.
Kuehn, Manfred. Kant: A Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. A commendable focus on the chronological development of Kant’s ideas, rather than on his uneventful life.
Sedgwick, Sally S., ed. The Reception of Kant’s Critical Philosophy: Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. A solid collection of new interpretations by world-class scholars.
Dicker, Georges. Kant’s Theory of Knowledge: An Analytical Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. A useful aid for first-time readers of the transcendental aesthetic, logic, and analytic.
Adorno, Theodor. Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason.” Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001. An engaging work by a major twentieth century German philosopher that tells as much about Adorno as it does about Kant.
“Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made,” from Kant’s 1784 essay “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose”.
Humans are by nature morally corrupt egotists, who are adept at fooling themselves and others about their own selfish motives. They are inclined to misuse politial institutions to their own advantages. States and politicians are primarily interested in expanding their power and not in the welfare of their citizens or peaceful cooperation. The human tendency to break treaties and commit acts of violence stands in opposition to the rule of law and peace. Kant is therefore a political realist who has no illusions about humankind’s moral and social qualities.
investing
20260609: premarket: all futures are higher, Nasdaq +0.9%, S&P +0.6%, and Dow +0.45%. Gold around 4,300. Bitcoin $62,400. Oil drop to $89/92.
20260611: Europe ECB hikes interest rates for first time since 2023 as Iran war ramps up energy costs. ECB hikes its key interest rate to 2.25% as the Iran war continues to blow inflation off target. +25bps.
20260616: The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 31-year high on Tuesday in a landmark step in its policy normalisation, signalling readiness to tighten further as it focuses on taming price pressures from the Iran-war-induced energy shock.
给每一位在市场里经历过这种两难的人
懂得了理论，却无法确定自己在真实情境中会做什么。只有一种办法知道答案 – 真的去交易，真的去感受。但有一件事你可以提前记住：期权给了你一个借口，让你以为自己在「管理风险」。事实上，很多时候，期权给了你一个延迟决策的理由，一个把真实判断掩盖在结构里的方法。最终的问题永远只有一个：你相不相信这只股票？如果相信，就拿着它，让它自由地去到它该去的地方。如果不相信，就卖掉它，不管你的成本是多少。期权，最终只是一面镜子。它照出的，是你在面对不确定性时，真实的恐惧与欲望。每一次买卖就是一次与未来的赌博。
在面临不确定未来的股市时，患得患失是最正常的表现。涨，还会再高吗？跌，还会再低吗？可是倘若这时能不拘泥于现在，放眼未来几天、几个星期，甚至一两个月或者两三年，你还会在意当下的价格波动吗？买或者卖在某个时刻总是无解的难题，但在一个更长的时间段比如一个星期、一个月或两三年就很容易看得清楚。恐惧和欲望会消失在时间的长河之中。
cognitive bias:
「锚定效应」（Anchoring）：人在做判断时，会过分依赖最初接收到的信息（「锚」）。对交易者而言，入场价、权利金收入往往成为决策的无形牵绊。
「损失厌恶」（Loss Aversion）：在前景理论框架下，亏损的心理痛苦约为同等盈利的快感的两倍。这导致人们倾向于回避一切可能「实现亏损」的行动。
「遗憾厌恶」（Regret Aversion）：不仅恐惧实际的损失，更恐惧「做了一个事后看来是错误的决策」。这往往导致决策瘫痪。
「空头Gamma」（Short Gamma）：卖出期权的一方，在标的资产大幅波动时处于不利地位——无论向上还是向下，收益的增速都低于损失的增速。备兑期权在股价逼近执行价时，已不再是温和的收入策略。
manipulation
what is the power of the powerless?
what is the power of the helpless?
politics + violence = war sex + violence = rape
dynamics of things
money may become capital. money that generates a constant flow of money is capital. that is, the purpose of capital is used to generate more capital. this capital has nothing to do with daily life. the money for daily spending is a necessary need. human being itself is a kind of capital because it can regenerate a constant flow of energy and creativity. an isolated amount of money is not capital.
outsiders inn
outsiders united / outsider mutual-assistance network / outsider assistance network: outsider help / outsider information exchange: outsider news / outsider expert exchange: outsider expert
there is no absolute power only relative power. the hierachy and classes are the key for a few over many. cracks of a power system in the motion are always there. look carefully. there is no static power but dynamic power system. because power is in the change always.
Zen
There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen, Anthem
three marks of existence: anitya: everything in life is impermanent; anatman: empty of essence dukkha: broken: incomplete and imperfect
lightning cable
ai bubble?
- asset bubbles have tended to burst after the start of Fed hiking cycles
| period | start of tightening | peak rate before burst | total increase | peak to trough market decline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great depression | early 1928 | 6.00% | +250 bps | Dow Jones industrial average -89% |
| Dot-com bubble | June 1999 | 6.50% | +175 bps | Nasdaq composite -78% |
| Housing bubble | June 2004 | 5.25% | +425 bps | S&P500 -57% |
- Current rate loosening cycle
| period | start of loosening | current rate | total decrease | market performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| current cycle (2024 - early 2026) | sept. 2024 | 3.75% | -175 bps | S&P500 +24% |
signs to look for
- Shrinking free cash flows amid aggressive spending on AI infrastructure
- Increased cross-holding of US stocks on corporate balance sheets
- Deteriorating leverage ratios amid a debt-fueled AI expansion
- Compression of price-earnings multiples for AI stocks due to electric power and computing bottlenecks that stifle growth
- Wider credit spreads
eyewear glasses
thinner lenses from Zennt
Higher prescription = Thicker lenses. Nearsighted Lenses (Minus): These are thickest at the edges. The higher your prescription, the chunkier the edges can get. Farsighted Lenses (Plus): These are thickest in the center, which can sometimes create a magnified look. Astigmatism Correction: If you’ve got significant astigmatism, your lenses may have added thickness to fix those multiple focus points.
Lens Index (The Material): The “lens index” is like your lenses’ superpower. It measures how efficiently the material bends light to correct your vision. High-index lenses bend light more effectively, so they can pack the same prescription power into a smaller, thinner form. Think of it as upgrading to the ultra-slim version of your lenses. Higher lens index = Thinner lenses.
Frame Size and Shape: Smaller frames = Slimmer, lighter lenses. Rounded or oval frames are great for reducing thickness compared to wide or oversized shapes.
| lens index | prescriptions |
|---|---|
| 1.50 standard index | +1.00/-2.75 or below |
| 1.53 Trivex | +2.00/-3.00 or below |
| 1.57 mid index | +2.00/-3.75 or below |
| 1.59 polycarbonate | +3.00/-4.75 |
| 1.61 high index | +3.00/-5.75 or below |
| 1.67 high index | +4.75/-6.75 or below |
| 1.74 high index | +5.00/-7.00 or below |
滕王阁序
落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色。漁舟唱晚，響窮彭蠡之濱；鴈陣驚寒，聲斷衡陽之浦。
云销雨霁，彩彻区明。落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。渔舟唱晚，响穷彭蠡之滨，雁阵惊寒，声断衡阳之浦。
天高地迥，覺宇宙之無窮；興盡悲來，識盈虛之有數。
關山難越，誰悲失路之人；萍水相逢，盡是他鄉之客。
天高地迥，觉宇宙之无穷；兴尽悲来，识盈虚之有数。望长安于日下，目吴会于云间。地势极而南溟深，天柱高而北辰远。关山难越，谁悲失路之人；萍水相逢，尽是他乡之客。
時運不齊，命塗多舛。馮唐易老，李廣難封。屈賈誼於長沙，非無聖主；竄梁鴻於海曲，豈乏明時？所賴君子安貧，達人知命。老當益壯，寧移白首之心；窮且益堅，不墜青雲之志。
北海雖賒，扶搖可接；東隅已逝，桑榆非晚。
时运不齐，命途多舛。冯唐易老，李广难封。屈贾谊于长沙，非无圣主；窜梁鸿于海曲，岂乏明时？所赖君子安贫，达人知命。老当益壮，宁移白首之心？穷且益坚，不坠青云之志。酌贪泉而觉爽，处涸辙以犹欢。北海虽赊，扶摇可接；东隅已逝，桑榆非晚。孟尝高洁，空余报国之情；阮籍猖狂，岂效穷途之哭！
閒雲潭影日悠悠，物換星移幾度秋。閣中帝子今何在，檻外長江空自流。
文征明 滕王阁序 行书
文徵明 小楷南华经
notes
When I first began working with Len, he was—despite being just past thirty—already a legend in the industry. This was the writer who, with the equally-legendary Bernie Wrightson, created the groundbreaking Swamp Thing series. Unless you were around when that book debuted, you can’t really grasp how truly revolutionary Swamp Thing was, how different from everything that had come before it. I remember being floored by the emotional power of the art, the pulp-poetry of the language and the big beating heart at the story’s core. You couldn’t read an issue of Swamp Thing without feeling something, without being moved.
If that series was all Len had done, his place in Comic Book Heaven would be secure, but he was also the guy who co-created Wolverine, one of the most successful, and popular, characters in the medium’s history… resurrected and revitalized the X-Men franchise…had memorable runs on everything from Justice League to Hulk, Batman to Spider-Man…and, oh, yes, was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics along the way. Len could do slam-bang superhero adventure with the best of them, but the hallmark of a Wein story wasn’t the action, it was that aforementioned beating heart. All of Len’s best work was marked by a deep humanity and a profound compassion.
Which is why, when I entered his office in the spring of 1979, I counted myself among the lucky ones: I didn’t realize just how lucky until I got to know Len. There are some writers whose work you admire, but then you meet them and it’s impossible to make the leap from the words on the page to the person across the table: there seems to be some great cosmic disconnect—and, yes, a great disappointment, as well. (It’s unfair to expect a writer or actor or musician to somehow be the embodiment his art—the work alone should be more than enough—but we hope for it nonetheless.) With Len, though, the man and the work were one. He was just like his stories: charming, funny, eloquent and all heart. He extended that heart to me. There wasn’t a hint of self-importance to the man. His editing style was warm and welcoming. He taught through encouragement, enthusiasm. Even if he didn’t like a particular story—and, believe me, some of my early scripts were massively flawed—he never eviscerated the work, never bullied: just found a gentle way to guide me out of the morass of my own inexperience and onto solid creative ground.
In a very short time, Len became not just my editor, but my friend and first real mentor in the comic book business. He saw a spark of something special in my stories and, through his patient guidance, helped fan that spark into a flame. There I was, an insecure, working class kid from Brooklyn, uncertain of my own talent, wondering if I could carve a career for myself in this wonderful, and hugely peculiar, business—and there was The Legendary Len Wein providing the answer: “If you want it, you absolutely can.”
You can’t put a price on that.
Iain Banks interviews: I won’t miss waiting for the next financial disaster because we haven’t dealt with the underlying causes of the last one. Nor will I be disappointed not to experience the results of the proto-fascism that’s rearing its grisly head right now. It’s the utter idiocy, the sheer wrong-headedness of the response that beggars belief. I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power and no money and these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.
You don’t need to excel or be the best. You don’t need to conquer or be elite. It’s fine to just exist in the world, it’s fine to just enjoy something, and not compete or monetize.
萨哈罗夫: 上帝并非世界的统治者，也不是其法则的制定者；他是存在之意义的守护者– 一个深藏于存在之表象荒谬之下的一个定点。哪怕是在生命与心灵交融的短暂瞬间，人依然能够感知到那无限的存在。
book: Emily Wilson, The Odyssey, Homer
book: Captive Minds: A Study of Manipulation by Avishai Margalit & Assaf Sharon
book: The Manipulated Mind: Brainwashing, Conditioning and Indoctrination by Denise Winn
In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People by Dr. George K. Simon Ph.D.
book: Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787