21–30 of 86 posts
Celebrity and money are like a reality distortion field. I hope I never acquire either in large quantities - it does not seem like a desirable thing
Celebrity and money are like a reality distortion field. I hope I never acquire either in large quantities - it does not seem like a desirable thing
Presumably the guy is distinctively not rich, or he wouldn't have gotten involved in such risky business to make money. Most of the hit songs he's been involved with are based one or more older songs, so he may not make much from royalties.
> Adding to his woes, the government seized roughly $80 million from him.
That to me means that he was distinctively rich
Celebrity and money are like a reality distortion field. I hope I never acquire either in large quantities - it does not seem like a desirable thing
Secret money is the best, but hard and rare. Celebrity without money the worst and I fully agree with you that I'd prefer to have neither.
It’s better to have $5 million than to be broke. That absolutely true. But there is a level of wealth and position where you absolutely must participate in the most evil parts of society to stay where you are. The level of money that you can quietly have is not one that rich people are impressed by. There is a higher level, which you cannot have without the support of society, and the support of society is something you do not get unless you are actively participating in terrible things, either as a willful actor or, more likely in this case, a patsy who usually has no idea what’s going on.
I do wish this article had been more concrete about what those terrible things were, though. And I have no sense of where the man was truly a criminal or just way out of his depth. When people in the arts and sciences get caught up in these things, it tends to be the latter.
I'm a little confused about what he actually did. The article mostly speaks about making connections and introducing people to each other. But: > The concierge then hands him an envelope with orders to circle the block twice before receiving further instructions. What was in that envelope?
-edit- justice.gov says: "Michel was convicted of conspiracy, concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering, and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power."
Celebrity and money are like a reality distortion field. I hope I never acquire either in large quantities - it does not seem like a desirable thing
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah. Nothing will ever be as funny as Holmes' deep voice, though. The fact that she conned so many people is really one of the greatest modern examples of just how effing stupid most people are, especially those with a fair bit of power and money. Carreyrou's book and pod are truly excellent.
I hated that voice. At first, I told myself it wasn’t right to hate someone’s voice so much because I assumed it had been something she couldn’t control, and in fact it made her slightly more impressive to me that she had gotten anywhere with such an uncharismatic voice. Then I found out that, no, she made it up. All fake. I have a cousin with two special needs children. When I was first told that people in Silicon V…
But I never hate, because hate is a poison to one's own soul, and must always be avoided. I do, however, feel a hot righteous anger at those that manipulate others for personal gain, especially when it's combined with callous disregard for their victims' well-being.
I wish more people were like you, who have found reasons to grow their compassion. Peace be with you, and your cousin's family.