Found Your Own Tradition

FADE IN: EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE - DAY

JOSH [VO]

It's a good speech.

LEO [VO]

The Andrew Jackson speech?

CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

JOSH

Yeah.

LEO

It is a good speech.

JOSH

And it gets better every year. But...

LEO

What?

JOSH

You're not going to give it, right?

LEO

Sure.

JOSH

Why?

LEO

Because it's Big Block of Cheese Day, Josh.

They exit office, walk through JOSH'S BULLPEN AREA.

JOSH

Yeah, see, but we know it's Big Block of Cheese Day. 

And we know why it's called Big Block of Cheese Day. 

So, there's really no need for the speech.

LEO

Except it wouldn't be Big Block of Cheese Day without the speech, now, would it?

JOSH

Well, let's find out. Maybe it would.

LEO

How did you get to work this morning?

JOSH

I walked.

LEO

Ah.

JOSH

Yeah.

LEO

How is it out there?

JOSH

Uh, it's pretty loud.

LEO

World Policy Studies is holding a forum this morning. 

I'm going to send Toby.

JOSH

That's a good idea.

LEO

Why?

JOSH

Well, 'cause you're not sending me.

LEO

Look, I...

JOSH

Leo, the World Bank and the WTO are international organizations of which the U.S. is one member. 

Why isn't Switzerland the one?

LEO

'Cause they're not protesting in Switzerland... 

they're protesting on 18th street, and 

I don't want to be asked how come no one from the White House ever met with them.

JOSH

Well, that seems reasonable.

LEO

I can't tell you how relieved I am to have your approval on that.

JOSH

But you're still going to do the speech.

They stop outside the Roosevelt Room.

LEO

Got to. Little thing called team morale, Josh. 

You gotta make people feel good about themselves.

Leo and Josh enter THE ROOSEVELT ROOM. 

Approximately 35 staffers are standing or sitting at the table.

LEO

All right, shut the hell up, everybody. 

I've fired more people than you before breakfast.

Complete silence ensues. Leo goes to stand at the head of the table.

LEO

Andrew Jackson,... 

[staffers groan]

...in the main foyer of the White House had a Big Block of Cheese. 

The block of cheese was huge...

C.J.

Leo, who made these assignments?

LEO

I think this will go faster if I'm not interrupted, don't you?

C.J.

I'm meeting with the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality?

MARGARET

Yes.

C.J.

What do mapmakers have to do with social equality?

LEO

I guess you're about to find out.

C.J.

Well, probably not, because I won't really be listening to them.

LEO

The block of cheese was huge...

LARRY

Excuse me, Leo. C.J., I got NIH research funding for cancer treatment using shark cartilage, if you want to trade.

ED

I'll take that.

LARRY

What do you got?

ED

Citizens for D.C. Statehood.

LARRY

Forget it.

DONNA

I've got the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Society, but I'm keeping it.

LEO

You're all keeping it. I'm sure Margaret worked long and hard to make sure that the appropriate petitioner went to the appropriate staffer.

Margaret shakes head 'no', Leo turns to look at her and she nods 'yes'.

LEO

The block of cheese was two-tons, and was there for any and all who might be hungry...

TOBY

[enters] 

Excuse me. I was waylaid.

C.J.

By what?

TOBY

30,000 tourists.

LARRY

You know, the protesters.

TOBY

No, don't call them protesters, I've seen better organized crowds at the DMV.

LEO

Two tons this block of cheese weighed...

TOBY

[still muttering] 

In my day, we knew how to protest.

C.J.

What day was that?

TOBY

1968.

JOSH

How the hell old were you when you were protesting?

TOBY

My sisters took me. [staffers chuckle] Anybody have a problem with that?

LEO

No one has a problem with that.

TOBY

The police are always seven steps ahead of them. 

The cops know exactly where they're going to be and what's going to happen. 

You know how they know? 

By logging onto their website. 

We had the underground. We had rapid response.

C.J.

And by God, you were home by supper on a school night.

TOBY

These people are amateurs. What's my assignment?

LEO

Meeting with the amateurs.

TOBY

Huh?

LEO

World Policy Studies is having a forum... there'll be about a hundred of them.

TOBY

Doing what?

LEO

Listening to you conduct a free exchange of ideas.

TOBY

Really?

LEO

Josh thinks it's a good idea.

TOBY

Oh well, if Josh thinks it's a good idea, then you bet, I'll do it.

LEO

Look...

TOBY

What else is there?

C.J.

I've got Cartographers for Social Equality.

JOSH

So, now you have two choices... meeting with an unruly mob or meeting with lunatic mapmakers.

TOBY

Or getting paid a lot more money working almost anywhere else I want.

LEO

Seriously, Toby, there'll be security there. But still...

TOBY

What about press?

C.J.

Just wires.

TOBY

No, I mean TV.

C.J.

No cameras.

TOBY

You negotiated that?

C.J.

Yeah.

TOBY

They agreed to it?

C.J.

You want to make out with me right now, don't you?

TOBY

Well, when don't I? [to Margaret] Give me the thing.

LEO

Okay, then. Andrew Jackson in the main foyer of the White House had a two-ton block of cheese.

JOSH

And a wheat thin the size of Lake Tahoe.

The staffers giggle. An aide hands Donna a note.

LEO

It was there for any and all who were hungry. 

It was there for the voiceless, the faceless...

Donna leaves.

CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

Donna exits to the hallway, where STEPHANIE GAULT is waiting.

DONNA

Stephanie.

STEPHANIE GAULT

[whispering] Hi. You look great.

DONNA

Thank you. Why are you talking like that?

STEPHANIE

I don't want to shout.

DONNA

But we can use our normal voices though, right?

STEPHANIE

Never been in the White House.

DONNA

If you wait till later tonight, I'll give you a tour.

STEPHANIE

Did I get you out of something?

DONNA

No, I meant we're not allowed to give tours until after 10:00 when the

President's out

of the west wing.

STEPHANIE

Oh.

DONNA

Come with me.

STEPHANIE

The President works until 10:00?

DONNA

He usually works until after that, but he leaves the Oval at 10. We'll go

in Josh's office.

CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

STEPHANIE

Donna, I am getting you out of something though, right?

DONNA

Nothing, you got me out of the Big Block of Cheese Day meeting.

STEPHANIE

What's...

DONNA

I had the worst feeling you were going to ask. Andrew Jackson, while he was

President,

had in the main foyer of the White House - I can't believe I'm giving this

speech -

a two-ton block of cheese. In that spirit, Leo McGarry designates one day

for certain

senior staff members to take appointments with people or groups that wouldn't

ordinarily

be able to get the ear of the White House.

STEPHANIE

Sounds amazing.

DONNA

We make a lot of fun of it but truth is, I think it is.

STEPHANIE

Um, I'm sorry to, uh...

DONNA

Oh, yeah.

Donna closes the door, comes back and sits across from Stephanie.

STEPHANIE

Were you able to mention me to Sam Seaborn?

DONNA

I wasn't... I haven't yet and I apologize.

STEPHANIE

No, that's okay.

DONNA

Sam's just... it's been a bad week for Sam.

STEPHANIE

It's just that from everything I've been told, the President listens to Sam

Seaborn when

it comes to...

DONNA

Yeah.

DONNA

I should have said this on the phone. I'm not that comfortable with...

STEPHANIE

That's....

DONNA

It puts him in an awkward position if he has to say "no," and something like

this, if it

seems like a favor.... [beat] Steph, is your dad dying?

Stephanie nods softly.

DONNA

Okay, listen. When we're in with Sam, mention what you've just said before,

that from

everything you've heard, he's the man. He'll want to impress you and show

you that he's

got access to the President.

STEPHANIE

Wait a minute. You're really getting me in to see him? It's really all right?

DONNA

Yeah, it's Big Block of Cheese Day. [picks up phone] It's me. I need some

time with Sam.

The Art of Study is Not a Voluntary Gulag

Because it's unnatural.

Why would you even want to..?

What are you, Asian..?

...'cause if you don't practice, then you might as well give The Clarinet to a kid who'll use it.

Kim's mother called me just after he left her. 

Delightful woman. He's her only son. 

He'd left his clarinet behind. 

She wanted to know if she had time to send it. 

I had to tell her no. 

I think (1) you can't do it and (2) you shouldn't try. No one can actually study that much. It is very rare for people to be able to concentrate  hard for more than three hours a day.

However, if you absolutely must....

1. Don't study more than 7.5 hours a day. You will just wear yourself out. More won't help. You can't learn when you are exhausted.
2. Take a day off per week. Do something you like on that day. You are in this for the long haul, so you can't wear yourself out. That would be counter-productive. Your job is to learn, not to prematurely die trying.
3. Make a plan. What knowledge is most critical in each of the subjects? First, concentrate only on that. Imagine that you are first planning to obtain the easiest 50% in each study area.
4. Study from low to high resolution. Familiarize yourself with the central ideas of the study areas. Then, and only then, concentrate on the details. This means that you have to broadly outline the study domain, as if you were summarizing it in essay format. I have produced a guide to such an outlining process here: http://jordanbpeterson.com/Psy43...
5. Nap. A lot. Study for 2.5 hours. Take a break. Eat something. Do something mindless, like watching a Simpson's episode. Then have a nap. That will refresh you, and also increase the probability that you will remember what you have studied. Sleeping helps consolidate memory.
6. Study one topic for 2.5 hours. Then switch to another. Continue.
7. Read. Then put down the book. Then summarize what you have read. Don't look at what you were reading when you summarize. You have to practice recall, not repeatedly expose yourself to the same material. You are practicing remembering. That's what makes you good at remembering. Going over the material ad nauseum won't work. It just feels like work, without any of the actual difficulty of work (or the benefits). Don't highlight or underline or anything useless and self-deceptive like that.

Meme-Smiths of The Ideal

PornostarDämmerung : Kagney Linn Karter

When The Fool Louis Theroux entitled his documentary 

"Twilight of The Pornstars",

he said more than he could ever know..

Cleopatra - 

In the habiliments of the Goddess Isis: 

You come before me as a suppliant. 

Antony - Suppliant to The Goddess : 

If you choose to regard me as such. 

Cleopatra - 

In the habiliments of the Goddess Isis: 

I do. You will therefore assume the position of a suppliant before this throne. 

You will kneel. 

Antony - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 

I will what? 

Cleopatra - 

In the habiliments of the Goddess Isis: 

On-your-knees! 

Antony - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 

You dare ask the Proconsul of the Roman Empire? 

Cleopatra - 

In the habiliments of the Goddess Isis:  

I asked it of Julius Caesar. 

I demand it of you

 Cleopatra - In the habiliments of the Goddess Isis

Kagney Linn Karter - 

In the habiliments of the Goddess FiFi :  

The Fool :

Montay, you are Kagney's Significant Other...?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
Yes.

The Fool :

Husband..?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
Ah, no.

The Fool :

No. Hoping to be..?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
Hoping to be, Ya.  Eventually, Someday.

The Fool :

What do you  do..?

Montay  - 

Suppliant to The Goddess : 

I am... A full-time assistant to my Girlfriend

The Fool :

Do you have rules about what she can or can't do?

You know, what you're comfortable with..?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
I get my input. I get my input on 
What I Believe 
that She should probably refrain from doing.

The Fool :

Like..?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
Um... Like, for example, Her agent called today and asked Her, does she want to do a Boy/Girl scene, but after the Boy/Girl scene, five guys come and ejaculate on Her.

The Fool :

So you expressed a preference that She not do that.

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
Of Course.
I mean, I'd rather...

The Fool :

What did She say?

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
She... said that She was gonna do it, y'know...

******

The Fool :

Montay was saying about this scene that you had coming up, and about... whether you should let these guys... Kind of, finish their business on you.

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

He didn't want to talk about it, so I'm actually surprised he even brought it up with you guys, because, Babe, you wouldn't even talk to me about it -

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess : 
I mean, I'm always going to have my opinion, so...
Especially if your agent says that he doesn't think that She should do it.

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

You saying that I couldn't do it cuts me out of two grand....

Montay  - 

Suppliant to The Goddess :

[ Folding Her dresses and discarded rainment ] 

I didn't say...

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

...and that cuts out of money  - that we can go on vaction, so we can do nice things for ourselves... 

Montay  - 

Suppliant to The Goddess :

I  never did say...

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

...so that I can buy you the clothes that you put on your back, Montay.

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess :
I didn't say that you couldn't do it.

The Fool :
Kagney, you would maybe want to respect his feelings, though, if he was... upset by something that you chose to do...?

[ The Suppliant is weeping, crying to himself quietly in the corner, as he folds dresses and sorts items in his Goddess' wardrobe ]

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

Are you upset, really?

Like you're upset now...?

Montay  - 

Suppliant to The Goddess :

I didn't say that I was upset.

The Fool :

He didn't.

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess :
I  never did say that.

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

I mean, of course I want to respect his feelings, but sometimes, he doesn't know What's Best For Me, and 
I know What's Best For Us 
because I have been running this train for a long time now, So...

Montay sometimes doesn't understand that the reason why I do certain scenes is not because I'm just a Big Whore...

Montay  - 
Suppliant to The Goddess :

[ Taking offence at the suggestion ] 

...No...!!

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

...who enjoys getting five loads on my face, it's because I know that that's the type of scene that might possibly win me an award.

[ and by implication, drive up her market value as a performer and earn larger fees. ]

The Fool :

As an outsider to the business and representing maybe what people at home would see, what I would say is that  Montay, maybe,  is taking on a lot already, by seeing the person that he loves performing Sex Acts with other people.... 

Kagney Linn Karter -

 In the habiliments of a bath towel:  

Okay, but Montay also gets to have lots of days off where gets to sit around the house and play video-games all day too, so - Okay?

So, Montay gets Whatever He Wants, 

he has a really good life, that I provided for him

So - Montay has it easy.

[ So do Zoo Animals - the difference being, that they are not there by choice, the suppliant is chosing to be there and to serve his Goddess in the office of a Priest. ]

[ He's more like a pet than a Zoo Creature. ]

Louis Theroux's Twilight of The Pornstars

PornostarDämmerung

My art has been commended as being strongly vaginal, which bothers some men.

"I am your priest. I am your servant. 

I am your guide in This World. 

I've taken your sacraments and placed them close to my heart according to the ancient ways. 

That's why you were called to me." 

- Knox, Qwa'ha Xahn High Priest  to the Goddess Illyria

Newman: 

Right, you’re just saying that’s the way it is?

Peterson: 

Well, it’s, I’m not saying anything. It’s just an observation, that, that’s the way it is. 

There’s plenty of women that are watching my lectures and coming to my talks and buying my books. 

It’s just that the majority of them happen to be men.

Newman: 

What’s in it for the women, though?

Peterson: 

Well what sort of partner do you want? 

You want an overgrown child? 

Or do you want someone to contend with, that’s going to help you?

Newman: 

So you’re saying women have some sort of duty to sort of help fix the crisis of masculinity?

Peterson: 

It depends on what they want. 

No I mean, it’s exactly how I laid it out like. 

Women want, deeply, want men who are competent and powerful!

And I don’t mean power in that they can exert tyrannical control over others. 

That’s not power! 

That’s just corruption. 

Power is competence, and why in the world would you not want a competent partner? 

Well, I know why actually. 

You can’t dominate a competent partner. 

[ You can if they are self-sacrificing - as all parents and suppliants are expected to be. ]

So if you want domination, …

Newman: 

So you are saying women want to dominate, is that what you’re saying?

Peterson: 

No. I’d say women who have had their relationships with men impaired and who are afraid of such relationships, will settle for a weak partner, because they can dominate them. 

[ Or, She may in fact be a goddess. ]

But it’s a sub-optimal solution.

[ Unless She is a Goddess - but that has to be earned. ]

[ Most  men are not Kings ot Little Gods Upon The Earth, most women are not Goddesses - but some are. ]

Newman: 

Do you think that’s what a lot of women are doing?

Peterson: 

I think there’s a substantial minority of women who do that. 

And I think it’s very bad for them. 

They’re very unhappy. 

It’s very bad for their partners. 

Although the partners get the advantage of not having to take any responsibility.

Newman: 

What gives you the right to say that? 

I mean, maybe that’s how women want their relationships, those women. 

I mean, you’re making these vast generalizations.

Peterson: 

I’m a clinical psychologist.

Newman: 

Right. So you’re saying you’ve done your research and women are unhappy dominating men?

Peterson: 

I didn’t say they were unhappy dominating them. 

I said it was a bad long-term solution. 

It’s not the same thing.

Newman: 

Okay, you said it was making them miserable.

Peterson: 

Yes, it is. And it depends on the time frame. I mean, there can be, there’s intense pleasure in momentary domination. 

That’s why people do it all the time, but it’s no formula for a long-term, successful, long-term relationship. 

That’s reciprocal, right? Any long-term relationship is reciprocal, virtually by definition. So, …