Jeremy Wagner

@romanhelmetguy This may be the best take on stoicism I’ve ever read.

Stoicism is a great self-help tool for extremely neurotic people. It can help you get “back to baseline.” Marcus Aurelius was extremely neurotic. He never wanted to be emperor. He was put into the line of succession by Hadrian when he was a teen because he was seen as the safe choice with no ambition who would protect the small child of Hadrian’s dead friend who Hadrian really wanted to be his heir (Lucius Verus). And indeed, Marcus did just that, naming Lucius Verus his co-emperor. This was the first time in history there had ever been a co-emperor, and obviously that precedent caused a ton of problems. Marcus became addicted to opium (an ingredient of the medicine called theriac that Galen gave him) to cope with the anxiety of being emperor. He also kept a journal where he talks a lot about not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to talk to people, etc. Try to imagine Julius Caesar writing Meditations. You can’t. Marcus was fortunate enough to have able generals conduct his wars, but he was not a brilliant battlefield commander. The most celebrated victory that he seems to have been personally involved in is one time he got his troops surrounded on a hill without any water and they were all about to die but then it rained. This is called “The Miracle of the Rain.” But a lot of you hate him for the wrong reason. Every emperor named their son their heir if they had a living son. The other “Five Great Emperors” did not have living sons when they died. Commodus was always going to be his heir. Anyway, stoicism can help you with anxiety. But it cannot provide meaning in your life. You don’t believe the woo-woo pseudo-religious philosophical “nature is logos” parts of it anyway. You just want the self-help bits. Which is fine. But once you’ve cured your anxiety, there’s still further to ascend.

Damn. Tough week for the Bauer haters. “He’s washed” -> no hitter “Teammates hate him” -> endorsement from a first ballot hall of famer “Velo isn’t there” - sits 95 touches 99 with 10ks Sold out crowds. Sold out autograph sessions. Vlogs on fire. Life is good right now. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this week special! Love you guys!

@SandyofCthulhu All better than RoP

So Rings of Power is a flop. They lost more than 60% of their viewers in the first season, after spending a billion dollars. I think part of the problem was that they kept messing with actual beloved characters from Lord of the Rings, instead of telling different stories. Middle Earth is huge. There are lots of things they could do besides pollute the franchise. Here are five ideas that I think would be a LOT more interesting than the Rings of Power. 1) a "Cheers" type comedy set in the Prancing Pony in Bree. 2) the adventures of Bill the Pony and how he got back to the Shire. You KNOW that story's fire. 3) a mystery show about Sam's old gaffer solving crimes in the Shire. Called "Mordor, He Wrote". 4) an action show about a team of warriors patrolling the north to protect Eriador from bandits, trolls, orcs, wargs, stone giants, and so forth. It would be titled, "Walker, Thangorodrim Ranger" 5) the hijinks and strategems of the two blue wizards as they try to thwart the machinations of darkness in distant lands. Kind of a buddy action-comedy.

Most fathers raise their daughters like they’re "little princesses." They think they’re teaching them to find a man just like them, but this makes the father miss something important. Here’s why: Daughters grow up with different ideas about love and relationships than men. A husband’s love is romantic, and that can include sex. But a father’s love is about care, support, and giving without expecting anything in return. So, when a daughter grows up, she might think love is something she deserves without having to give anything back. Even if she pulls away her appreciation, respect and love, her dad will still love her. If I were giving advice to a husband, I’d say, “Walk away from any woman who thinks she can pull away love and still expect a man to give love, respect, and support.” My own dad didn’t call me a princess. He taught me that to receive love, I must also give to others. And because of that, I never took his love for granted, because I didn’t want to lose it. So, to all parents out there: stop treating your daughters like princesses. You might be setting them up for unhealthy relationships later in life.

@TheBaldJedi @hollywoodscifi Because they will put a chick in it and make it gay

@hollywoodscifi Every streaming service is producing shows. Why not bring back Johnny Quest?!?

Jonny Quest was unique in many ways, and it's truly one of a kind in Saturday morning TV. It was twice the budget of The Flintstones, and every other cartoon, full orchestra, characters died violently, the art was more nuanced. Sponsors hated it, and it lost money.

If the NFL had properly investigated the Morgan Moses tampering concerns in 2025 raised by Jets & Eagles fans, they might have discovered the Vrabel - Russini connection sooner.

@Sxnt1_Sxndxval You did the right thing. Move on. Consider her gaslighting as a final nail in the coffin. This crap doesn’t get better with age.

Acabo de cancelar mi boda, a solo dos semanas del evento, porque revisé el celular de mi prometida y descubrí que tiene una cuenta de ahorros secreta con más de $50,000 USD de la que nunca me habló. Llevamos tres años viviendo juntos y durante todo ese tiempo yo he pagado el 80% de los gastos, incluyendo la renta, las cenas y hasta sus vacaciones, bajo la premisa de que ella "apenas llegaba a fin de mes" con su sueldo. Incluso me endeudé con un préstamo personal para pagar la mitad de la fiesta de la boda que ella tanto quería, mientras ella decía que no podía aportar más porque estaba "en cero". Cuando la confronté, no me pidió perdón; me gritó que yo era un acosador por invadir su privacidad y que ese dinero es su "fondo de emergencia por si las cosas salen mal", algo que su madre le aconsejó tener siempre en secreto. Mis amigos dicen que exageré, que al final es su dinero y que no hubo una infidelidad física, así que no debería tirar tres años a la basura. Yo siento que viví con una estafadora que me dejó cargar con todo el peso financiero mientras ella acumulaba una fortuna a mis espaldas. Ella dice que si la amara, su cuenta bancaria no me importaría. Yo digo que la confianza se rompió para siempre. ¿Ustedes qué harían? ¿Es válido tener secretos financieros así en una relación o es una traición total? Los leo.

@stoolpresidente Streisand effect. Well done.

Not funny. Offensive. Please delete

@Devon_Eriksen_ @Templarpilled As a Christian, I find your retorts exceedingly funny. I usually agree with the guys you reply to but it’s always interesting to read what you write. I also enjoy reading your commentary on just about everything.

@Templarpilled Sir, this is a Wendy's.

You will never be a real atheist. All the “beliefs” you hold are downstream from Christianity. You are a Christian man twisted by propaganda and depression into a crude mockery of God's perfection.

7 Inspiring Scripture Quotes To Lift You Up buff.ly/SivQs7q

'Is It Too Late To Ask Who Gerry Mander Is?' KBJ Whispers To Clarence Thomas buff.ly/vrZP50y

okay who did this

NFL teams should play the songs on the playlist during pre-game whenever they play New England. That would be next level trolling.

@kurt13warner Collagen supplements, BPC-157 and TB100. It’s like magic.

Need some help! I’m in the best shape of my life… I’m as lean as I’ve ever been… but I have some inflammation around my knees that’s driving me crazy & no matter what I’ve tried: diet, vitamins/supplements or exercise, I can’t shake it! Any experts out there that have some ideas to help???

@JohnSimpsonNews I hope the US removes all troops, quits sharing intel and stops this nonsense of a special relationship once and for all.

The King did what he had to do in his speech in Congress. But even though the next US president will no doubt work hard to rebuild relationships with NATO, no British, Canadian or European government will forget what Donald Trump has done and said. It can always happen again.

@BBGreatMoments I miss the double switch

National League baseball was more fun when managers had to think around the pitcher’s spot.

I am a senior coordinating producer for the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. I have worked eleven of these. I was backstage at the Washington Hilton when the shots were fired. The first thing I heard was not the gunfire. It was glass. A champagne flute hit the floor of the International Ballroom at approximately 9:47 PM. Then a second. Then the sound that I have since been told was a 12-gauge shotgun, which from inside the ballroom sounded like a heavy door slamming in a parking garage. Then the Secret Service moved. They moved the President, the Vice President, the First Lady through the east corridor in under ninety seconds, which is protocol, which is practiced, which is the one part of the evening that worked exactly as it was designed. Everything else was improvised. I know this because I ordered the wine. 94 tables. Two bottles per table. 188 bottles of a Willamette Valley pinot noir that the Association selected in February after a tasting committee spent three meetings debating between Oregon and Burgundy. Oregon won. The budget was $14,200. I signed the invoice. I can tell you the vintage. I can tell you the distributor. I can tell you the per-bottle cost because I negotiated it down from $89 to $76. What I cannot tell you is how 147 of those bottles left the building during an active shooter evacuation. I can tell you what I saw. A correspondent from a network I will not name picked up two bottles on her way to the east exit. Full bottles. One in each hand. She was wearing heels and she did not spill. A man in a tuxedo tucked one inside his jacket the way you'd shoplift a paperback at an airport bookstore. A woman picked up a bottle, looked at the label, put it back, and took a different one. She checked the vintage. During an evacuation. That's editorial judgment under pressure. The theme of the dinner was "A Free Press for a Free People." The banners were still hanging when the evacuation began. I know because I hung them. Twenty-three banners, navy blue, gold serif lettering, $11,400 for the set. They were still hanging when 2,600 guests were directed to the exits by Secret Service agents, one of whom had just taken a shotgun round in his ballistic vest and walked to the ambulance on his own feet. The agent's vest costs approximately $800. The wine that left the building was worth $11,172 at Association cost. At restaurant markup, roughly $29,000. The guests saved more in wine than the vest that saved the agent. That's priority. The video went viral by 10:15 PM. Not the video of the evacuation. Not the Secret Service response. The wine. Three guests in formalwear grabbing bottles off white tablecloths while being told to move toward the exits, while a man with a shotgun stood in the same motor entrance where John Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan 45 years ago. A woman near the service entrance was crying. She said "I just wanna go home." She was not holding wine. She was holding her phone. She was the only person I saw that night who looked afraid rather than inconvenienced. That's the distinction. The rest of the ballroom did not look afraid. They looked interrupted. An active shooter at the WHCD is a logistical problem. The dinner was disrupted. The timeline was off. The after-party at the French Ambassador's residence would need to be rescheduled. These are contingency matters. Contingency matters have solutions. Fear is for people who attend events without security details. I have produced eleven of these dinners. I have managed seating charts that require diplomatic-grade negotiations. I have handled comedians, cabinet secretaries, network anchors, and the editor of a major newspaper who once threatened to leave because his table was behind a column. I have never, in eleven years, seen a guest leave a $76 bottle on the table during an evacuation. I have also never seen a guest check the label first. Both observations are consistent. The bottle is worth taking. The evacuation is worth surviving. The instinct is to do both simultaneously. 188 bottles placed. 41 recovered. 147 unaccounted for. One agent shot. Zero guests injured. Zero bottles broken. A free press for a free people. The press is free. The wine was $76 a bottle. They took it anyway.

@6starwarsfilms The opposit of love isn’t hate. It’s indifference. Star Wars murdered and humiliated the heroes. They did it because they genuinely hate the fans.

Disney's greatest modern achievement is making star wars fans like me completely apathetic I've read over 150 novels, played 20+ video games, thousands of comics, seen the movies probably 50 times each I dont know or care when the grogu movie comes out. I won't be watching it.

@0hour1 Badass mf

Breaking the man who stopped the shooter at the DC WH Correspondence dinner was a cook named Casey Ryback. Casey was cooking meals when he heard the commotion and tackled the gunman and saved everyone.