64 Comments
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Aaron George's avatar

This essay is not really my area of interest, but I thought I'd stop by to reiterate that I'd gladly pay a higher subscription fee rather than see you exhaust yourself to please us. You have a life and a family that need your time as well, so don't beat yourself up over the pace of your output.

Colter's avatar

Great article. It kinda reminds me of how I am in the middle of getting my garden ready. It is mindless physical labor that leaves me exhausted, but it makes me feel so much more alive than my job does.

Baron's avatar

I was born into chaos in a theosophy cult called church universal and triumphant. I had an incredibly fucked up childhood, adolescence and adult life as a consequence of this. DC has helped me heal on uncountable levels. Thank you man. Keep it up. You’re doing extraordinary work in ways you may not even be able to understand. Thank you

Baron's avatar

The proper response to trauma and neglect is a level of self love that cannot be understood by or articulated to anyone but oneself and the cold hard truth of personal accountability that will either redeem you or obliterate you. DC gets this

Baron's avatar

I got Neal Stephenson to sign Anathem for a friend who got me into him with “keep at the sawtooth curves”. He didn’t understand the reference and I had to remind him.

Kinship moment. I feel the same with DC

Hollis Brown's avatar

great essay.

this is exactly the kind of random, idiosyncratic writing I value the most.

I never would have thought to synthesize the pre-industrial immigrant spirit to the post-industrial ennui through the paradigm of American boxing, but now I will never forget it.

Jack Trent's avatar

I remember seeing Muhammed Ali on the Dick Cavett Show when he was about 32. He had been doing his grandstand jive act all night and then Cavett asked him if he noticed any signs of aging. Ali immediately got dead serious. He said,

"I can see the punches coming, but I can't get out of the way."

That kinda sums up getting old, doesn't it? I'm 72 in 2026 and, yep, it's true.

One After 909's avatar

Yes sir.. At 75 I’m finally getting used to the fact that there are things I can’t lift, carry or avoid.

Mlh's avatar

I love this observation:

“Females are usually portrayed naked, often with exaggerated breasts and hips, while males are typically portrayed in costume, usually of animals. That is because women have no need of costumes to understand their destiny or purpose.”

Mark's avatar

I'm perfectly happy with the volume of content. However you choose to spend your time it results in worthwhile content.

My only complaint is the lack of follow through on some of the mini-series. Please don't leave The Peculiar Institution and Human Forever unfinished lingering forever.

Mick's avatar

This is a great and interesting piece - it's like your podcasts: excruciatingly researched and gets to the raw, real history. That being said, I'm fine with you being a DH and just hitting homerun podcasts, too. Those are epic and I'll gladly keep paying for that content for years. Keep up the great work.

SCA's avatar

Let me tell you that nothing made me understand--too many things to list--than the excerpts you posted from Ernst Junger's memoirs. A handful of paragraphs fully validated my subscription to you.

Colt McDonald's avatar

"Individual men are almost entirely expendable, as far as nature is concerned, and it goes out of its way to remind us that we are more or less redundant."

That's a hard truth to accept. Luckily, I have children already and have done my part, but I worry for my sons.

Xavier Narutowicz's avatar

You have a genius for streaming the American Experience, the harsh reality we always find ourselves in at any given time.

The Black Ghettoes are a black hole; once in, you never seem to get out. But Blacks have always been Moynahan’s canary in the coal mine.

The average American is in a deepening, all encompassing black hole that extinguishes all hope. Make America great again…a forlorn cry.

No conventional means will suffice; we all need a dose of AA, a higher power.

Jim Schneeberger's avatar

Excellent article. Miss the days of Duran, Hagler, Hearns and Leonard. Best wishes. Jim

Hayden's avatar

Damn man those last couple paragraphs really make a man think... I agree with your point though, however I would spin it positively to say that mans search for purpose is a massive part of what makes life worth living.

ColeThorton's avatar

Of course the Martyrmade boxing post sent me down the rabbit hole chasing the impacts of geogroahic differences in the Tropic of Capricorn vs Cancer on ancient civ developments. Great stuff.

wedonttrustyou's avatar

I enjoy reading what you write, that's why I'm here. The podcasts are a bonus.

Braxton Furstein's avatar

I love your writing, Darryl. Going into so many different directions always gives us a lot more to contemplate and think about! Learning any kind of martial arts will completely change your life for the better.